The Forgotten Hero
by SydneyTheAwesomeNerd
Summary: A man in a black cloak has been spotted traveling through the world of Gaia. Rumors have been spreading like a plague. In an attempt to get things straight, photojournalist, Verna Alm, leaves Midgard in pursuit of this mysterious figure. RufusXOC
1. Chapter 1

The Forgotten Hero - In the ancient days people would rely on coal. The coal wasn't clean and it caused pollution. Still, very few people had anything to say about it. It was cheap and efficient. About fifty years ago a new resource was harbored and enslaved by Shin-Ra Electric Corp. Shin-Ra called this new energy Mako. Mako energy comes from the planet's life stream. This being said people were using the planet's life to make their lives more comfortable. The planet was dying. Still, Shin-Ra didn't care; it was an even cheaper and more efficient fuel. The people were growing angry with their excuse, thus attacks on the company began to happen, and the great Sephiroth became a hero.

A war broke out between Shin-Ra – which at this point managed to take over most of the world- and Wutai. Shin-Ra's men started to weaken and thin in number. They needed to do something and fast. The scientists that worked for Shin-Ra tried something that has never been done before; they infused potential soldiers with Mako energy. Various tests showed that the men who had Mako infused in them had their senses enhanced. They could see further, their hearing was acute and they had the nose of a wolf. To add onto this groundbreaking discovery, their physical strength and reflexes heightened exponentially. This tilted the war in favor of Shin-Ra with these new warriors; SOLDIERS.

Sephiroth – the greatest SOLDIER – single handedly took out an entire army without breaking a sweat. He was the reason that Shin-Ra won this war against Wutai. He was the reason that many boys left their small towns to try and join SOLDIER and have their names in the newspaper. Still, no one would be a hero like Sephiroth.

However, things for Shin-Ra were starting to waver and their golden years were coming to an end. Different fiends were, and still are, showing up more frequently and were causing issues at various Mako plants. People were pointing fingers at Shin-Ra saying that these monsters were being created either through science experiments or through radiation. Then, there was the issue of the new eco-terrorist group; AVALANCHE. AVALANCHE was targeting these Mako plants and blowing them up. Shin-Ra needed to move fast once more.

There were issues at a small town called Nibelheim. Sephiroth was sent out to investigate the monsters that were rumored of clawing their way through the nearby mountains, by the Mako plant. The investigation took weeks, but there were very few reports being turned in. The ones that were turned in had little information. Some said that Sephiroth locked himself up in the mansion. No matter what happened, everything turned to chaos.

The Mako plant was destroyed. Then, Nibelheim was burnt to the ground. Very few survived the horrendous attack. Those who did survive were mentally scarred by the memories. No one knows for certain what happened. Shin-Ra says that AVALANCHE was responsible for the attacks. Others say that Sephiroth went insane from the Mako infused in him and destroyed Nibelheim. No matter what, this once great hero's name is now a stigma and has vanished from the face of the world.

Recently, there have been reports of a man in a black cloak. People say that underneath the hood of the cloak are glowing eyes – something that only SOLDIERs who have been infused with Mako energy would have. Whenever they recount their encounters, they become hushed and whisper that they caught glimpses of silver hair, threatening to flow from the hood, It's been known that these people utter words that suggest the man carries a long sword that strongly resembles the one Sephiroth was known for wielding; Masamune. Are these reports something of that of a child's fantasy, or is there some truth behind them? Could Sephiroth – the forgotten hero – still be wandering among the endless world that we call Gaia? –Verna Alm; Gaia's Global

"Interesting," A man mumbled through a cigar placed firmly between his plump lips. He scratched his chin, which reminded him that he has neglected to shave from the past two days. His eyes scanned over the pieces of papers that he held in his seemingly swollen hands. He then took the cigar from his mouth and tapped onto an ash tray before speaking, "Very interesting."

The said man, who seemed to have a keen liking to the word "interesting," stood up. His round belly threatened to pop the buttons of his short-sleeved collared shirt. His belt seemed unnecessary, as his encouraged med section did a fine job of keeping his pants up. The plump man waddled his way over to a cord glass door.

The door opened into a room that was bustling everywhere one looked. Various phones seemed to make a choir as they rang off the hook. Keyboards clacked as fingers seemed to endlessly strike them in a fast motion. People were calling to one another from across the room holding various papers that made noise whenever it was moved. It seemed to be chaotic, but it was business as usual.

Now, the plump man made his way through the narrow aisles of cubicles and desks. It was a wonder that his enlarged figure didn't get stuck, but somehow he managed. This man looked at the different name plates that were on the cubicles or the desks. Finally, the man stopped – it seemed he has arrived at the destination he was aiming for. He had arrived at _her _cubicle.

"Ms. Alm?" The man spoke. He then puffed his cigar in a different direction. After all, he didn't want to seem rude, no he had a favor to ask of her.

A girl, who was holding a phone close to her ear looked up and held a finger. She moved the mouth piece of the phone away from her as she said, "Just one moment, please."

She turned her direction as she stared straight ahead of her, seemingly at nothing, as she continued the conversation she had on her phone. "I know, Mister Deline! If you-!" The girl paused and tapped her fingers on the desk in an irritated manner. "Look, I just want to come and take a few pictures of the establishment, _maybe_ interview a few people, and then I'll be on my way. I won't do_ any_ snooping, nothing! I don't even have to go into the late president's office! I just want some visual pieces to support my news story." The girl paused once more. "Uhuh, yeah…Alright. Thank you for your time. Uhuh….Have a good day." The girl hung up and placed the phone back to its designated holding place.

"Is everything alright, Ms. Alm?" The husky sized man questioned the girl in front of him.

The girl glanced up from her chair and sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "I was trying to get an appointment set up to write a news story on the late President Shinra's death, but it's gotten me nowhere. I was going to use it to add onto the article that I turned in recently to you, but they won't let me within a miles radius of the building."

"I'm glad to hear that!" The man spoke suddenly. Ms. Alm – as he called her – blinked. Was the man even listening?

"Excuse me?" She asked slightly offended.

"I want you to have a series for this article!" The man waved his cigarette in the air. The girl watched it warily, this place was filled with papers and it would most definitely burn faster than Sector 7 blew up.

"Series?" The girl leaned back and crossed her arms, "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"I'm afraid to say it, but people are losing interesting in the newspaper. Why should they read it when the news is around with pretty moving pictures, or even the internet?" The man leaned against the wall. "Now, we need something new! Something exciting!"

"And my series would be something new and exciting?"

"Yes!" He pointed his cigar at her, which caused her to wrinkle her nose at the foul smell, but he paid no attention. "I want you to write about this mysterious cloaked figure! Every week you'll have a new…what do we call it?...chapter! You'll be trying to locate this cloaked figure and report anything suspicious this man does! Make it up if you have to!"

"Make it up- but!"

"I won't hear of it, Ms. Alm!" He waved his cigar around in a no-no manner. "People will look forward to seeing how this develops. If you're lucky, you might even find the one person you've deemed the forgotten hero!"

Ms. Alm furrowed her eyebrows together, finding Sephiroth? Now that would be something of her interest. Still, who's to say that Sephiroth was even alive? This person in a black cloak could just be someone's figment of imagination that just so happened to catch on. But if she could find Sephiroth…That wasn't something she wanted to suddenly turn down.

"Alright," Ms. Alm nodded. "I'll do it!" The plump man smiled arrogantly, causing her to rethink things. "But it's not just because I want to meet Sephiroth!" She protested. "I just want to get out of this lousy excuse of a city."

The man nodded knowingly that this was mostly a lie. He knew that Ms. Alm was growing restless in the city with no actual sun, but he also knew that she wanted to meet Sephiroth more than anything.

The man started to waddle away before pausing and turning his head to look at her. "You do take pictures, too, don't you?"

"Yes, why?" Ms. Alm glanced over to the camera gathering dust on her desk.

"Take pictures while you're traveling around," The man checked his watch. "You should probably leave as soon as possible. Shin-Ra's headquarters will be closing soon, so you could probably sneak in through then."

Ms. Alm quirked an eyebrow at him. He wanted her to become a criminal now did he? She turned around and gathered her things while smirking ever so slightly. Now things were starting to get interesting.

-A/N-

Hello~! I hope you did enjoy that first chapter. I know, I know…I went more into detail describing the fat guy than I did Ms. Alm. However, I really don't know what I want her to be yet. I'm still molding her figure, trying to figure out every bit of her being! I'm trying to learn from my mistakes in my last fan-fiction series, Crimson X and Madness, and am working on making this fan-fiction better! I honestly think I'll have an easier time with that…Considering I've been in love with this game since I was three years of age and writing for the characters will be easier.

If you would be so kind to review with what you want the love interest to be that would be fantabulous~! I'm still debating if I want it to be Sephiroth…Somehow…Uh…Review please~!


	2. Chapter 2

A policeman veered people away. He adjusted his hat ever so slightly. His frustration was starting to get to him. He glanced over as a young woman approached him. For a moment he quirked an eyebrow in slight interest, but this facial expressions turned sober quickly.

"It looks like you could use a break," the girl smiled kindly. "Chief said to let you have a small breather and let me watch things for about an hour."

"He did?" The policeman tilted head in slight confusion. It was unlike the chief to be so generous to the lower level policemen. Suspicion started to rise in this man. "And would you have some identification?"

"Oh yes!" The girl reached into her jacket's pocket. It was then the policeman noticed that it resembled that of a Turk. She then handed over her ID to him.

The policeman took it, she was indeed a Turk. He had to gulp ever so slightly. If the chief sent her here, then that most definitely meant that Shin-Ra didn't trust the local law enforcement. He couldn't blame them, though. They were mostly corrupt and only cared about money.

"So how about it?" The girl took her ID back from the man.

"Yes, sir," He nodded his head. Women who are Turks are supposed to be addressed as sir – the girl in front of him made a mental note of that as he said it. "Thank you, I suppose I'll go and grab a bite then."

"You go ahead and do that," The girl turned to face the pedestrians of Midgard. Her face was serious that hinted that no one should speak to her any further.

The policeman nodded towards the girl and hurried off. The idea of being around a Turk more than he had to spooked him to his very core.

Once the policeman was out of sight the girl smirked. Her eyes traveled over to the yellow tape that would forbid the public from crossing it. She glanced around. It seemed that the people of Midgard were avoiding this area. No doubt they were nervous about running into the same trouble that besieged Shin-Ra.

"Oh, what was that?" The girl questioned no one in particular. "Did I just hear some ruckus going on in the building? As a Turk I should go a check it out." Her voice dripped with faulty acting.

The girl lifted the tape and bent underneath it before walking into the building. She had an hour at the most before the policeman returned, so she had to make it fast. Quickly, she reached into her purse and took out her camera – on its strap read Verna Alm. Ms. Alm took pictures of the entrance way and then of the stairs and elevator.

"Let's see if this baby actually works," Ms. Alm fidgeted with the ID card that her fat boss seemed to have on hand. Rather particular, really, not to mention illegal. Her mind flashed back to when he gave it to her.

_"Ms. Alm!" He called out to her as she past his office. "Come here before you leave!"_

_ The girl entered his office and was immediately handed a piece of plastic. "What is this?" _

_ She moved some strands of red hair out of her face as she glanced at the card. Her photo was on it and it was clearly a fake ID for a Turk. Though, her knowing she wasn't actually a Turk was the only reason why she knew it was a fake ID. In all honesty it didn't seem forged. How did her boss manage this?_

_ "You need a way to get into the building, right?" Her boss put out his cigar in the ash tray. "I have some connections at Shin-Ra headquarters that made the card. It'll get you to any floor of the building. That way you don't have to worry about getting in trouble."_

Ms. Alm shook her head, ridding herself of the memory. She had work to do, and she had to make it fast. She pressed the elevator's button. In an instant it opened; this suggested it was already on the first floor. Ms. Alm walked into the elevator, her heels clicking as she did so. It took her a second or two to find the ID insertion area to allow her to go to the highest level – the 66th floor – the number of which she pressed. She gave a silent thanks as it actually worked.

The elevator moved, as did some shattered glass. Ms. Alm gulped as the wind picked up. She hadn't noticed that the elevator was broken. This caused her to hug the door as much as possible. She wasn't terribly afraid of heights, but she knew that they could be dangerous. This caused her to blink. Quickly, she raised a camera and took pictures of glass on the floor and the elevator.

She looked up as she noticed she was nearing the neighboring elevator. She had her camera at the ready. Once it was at level she focused the camera and snapped the button. A slight gasp escaped from her lips. On the elevator resided remnant robots that no doubt worked for Shin-Ra. Why were they here?

Her vision followed the elevator as she past it. Quickly, she took another photo, but this time she zoomed in on it as much as possible. Her eyebrows knitted together. There were bullets there; as well as scorch marks that definitely came from Materia. This wasn't Sephiroth's doing, he was never known for using guns. No, it had to be someone else. AVALANCHE? That was a possibility.

She hadn't another moment to ponder upon anymore of the possibilities as the elevator arrived to the 66th floor. Immediately, after the door opened, a foul smell met her nose. Ms. Alm gagged at the horrid odor and hesitantly made her way onto the 66th floor. It was coming from the above floors. That was for sure.

Clenching her nose shut, Ms. Alm shuffled her way to another elevator and went up to the 67th floor. Once the doors opened she nearly fainted. Blood was everywhere. Hesitantly, she took pictures of the horrid scene. She followed the path of blood and noticed a large container, which seemed to have been brutally broken into. Though, it was mostly destroyed, she took a picture of a name plate that read, "JENOVA."

"Jenova?" Ms. Alm questioned. It must have been some lopsided experiment that Shin-Ra conducted.

Shaking her head she continued to follow the trail of blood, taking pictures every so often. Though, once she made her way to the 70th, the final floor, she stopped. Her hands released their grip on the camera. Had it not been for the strap around her neck the camera would have shattered.

"He is actually dead," Ms. Alm pursed her lips together as she walked toward to the late President's corpse. She wasn't exactly sure what she was thinking was going to happen.

Her eyes narrowed as she noticed a thin gash in his body. She moved some pieces of fabric away. It was definitely a wound from a sword – a thin sword. Her mind ran over the possibilities, but she could only think of one. There was no other possibility, the person who killed the president just the night before was most definitely…

"Sephiroth…" She bit her lip.

The girl quickly took a picture of the body and ran out of the room and towards the 67th floor. She got into the elevator and landed on the 66th floor. Her feet raced to the other elevator and she then waited impatiently as it made its way to the bottom floor.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw that the policeman was already back. She quickly put her camera back into her purse and made her way outside. The policeman saw her and narrowed his eyes in an accusing manner.

"Why aren't you keeping watch?!" He practically yelled at her.

"I had to use the restroom," Ms. Alm crossed her arms. "I wasn't gone for that long, and it seems like no one snuck in, happy?"

"No!" The policeman grumbled.

"Whatever," Ms. Alm walked away, "I'm out of here."

Suddenly, the girl's phone rang. She flipped it opened and spoke in a monotone voice, she hadn't the slightest idea who it was – it's not like she had any contacts in her phone to begin with.

"Ms. Alm!" It was her boss. "Are you done at Shin-Ra?"

"Just finished actually," The girl walked through the streets as she talked. "Have a lead for where I need to go next?"

"Get out of Midgard and head Northeast to a small town called Kalm. There have been reports of a man in a black cloak heading that way. There have also been reports of two small groups of some suspicious people and some sort of animal."

"Care to elaborate further?"

"There are rumors that the two groups are members of AVALANCHE!"

"AVALANCHE?" The girl whispered mostly to herself as she flashed back to the mechanical remnants on the elevator.

"They could be connected to Sephiroth, so I want you to investigate them as well, got it?"

"Got it," Ms. Alm nodded. "Now how exactly am I going to get out of Midgard?"

"Glad you asked!"

-A/N—

Oh my goodness gracious~! Not even 24 hours later and I have my very first review for this story~! Thank you very much ! I actually appreciate the lengthy comment, so no need to apologize for it. Those are the most helpful~! And to answer his/her question (never sure on the internet, haha), "BTW, is this taken during FF7? During the time Sephiroth is running amuck before Meteor? Or after?" This does take place during the same time Sephiroth is running amuck before Meteor. =) Hopefully the little things in this chapter helped to answer that question.

Anyways, I do want to say that I'm going to be playing the game the same time I am writing the story, so where I am in the game is where I'll hopefully be in the story. This will just help me keep everything straight…That being said I have to do everything at where I am…And pointless leveling up…If I don't' level up now, it's a pain in the butt to just wander around Gaia aimlessly trying to become strong enough to fight Sephiroth, let alone all of the Weapons…;_;

Please review~! I still want to hear what other people want as the love interest – I'm horrible at making decisions. _


	3. Chapter 3

"I figure you could get in trouble with Shin-Ra, so you're going to…"

"Oh dear Shiva, you didn't…" Ms. Alm's face turned grimed as she noticed a bus filled with happy-go-lucky tourists pull up. "You did, didn't you!?"

"I figured it'd be the most convenient way for you to take pictures without getting in trouble. You're just a tourist, you don't know any better," her boss laughed on the other side. "Also, I'm going to have to publish your stories under a different name, an alias. Have anything in mind?"

"Just go ahead and use Elizabeth Lane," Ms. Alm gritted her teeth together as she walked onto the bus. The bus driver seemed to know who he was picking up as he didn't ask for any gil and he drove off.

Ms. Alm snapped her phone shut angrily and she eyed each of the passengers with the sort of eye a starving wolf would eye a chocobo. Some of the passengers whispered amongst themselves, asking why on Gaia a Turk was on the bus.

Ms. Alm maneuvered her way through the aisle. Looking for a completely free area, but alas there was none. Sighing, she glanced at a young girl sitting with a couple of free seats next to her. Her attire was unusual to say the least. Ms. Alm shrugged and gripped onto the cargo area above everyone's heads as she looked at her.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"If you weren't from Shin-Ra you could sit next to me," The girl replied with a huff and she crossed her arms.

"Good," Ms. Alm smirked and sat next to the girl.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The girl stood up with her hands on her hips. Ms. Alm examined the girl with a bored look. "I said you couldn't sit here!"

"You said if I wasn't from Shin-Ra I could sit next to you, I'm not from Shin-Ra," Ms. Alm replied in a matter of fact tone. "I'm not a Turk, I'm a photojournalist dressed like a Turk to get the inside story."

The girl, who oddly enough resembled a ninja, tilted her head. She was obviously confused. Ms. Alm shook her head. This girl didn't appear to be too bright. After running a hand through her auburn hair, she made a mental note to change clothes as soon as possible…She'd have to buy a new set of clothes first, though.

The ninja girl finally seemed to accept Ms. Alm's excuse as she plopped down in the uncomfortable seat. The girl kept glancing over at Ms. Alm and then looked straight ahead. The action was repeated multiple times until Ms. Alm grew tired of it.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Ms. Alm looked at the short haired girl next to her.

"You don't have any Materia by any chance do you?"

"No, sorry," Ms. Alm narrowed her eyes. That was a queer question to have been asked out of the blue. Was this girl wanting to see some Materia? Perhaps that was why she was on the tourist's bus. She did look foreign.

"What's your name?" Ms. Alm asked her.

"Why should I tell you?" The girl replied in an immature way.

"Just trying to make some conversation," Ms. Alm crossed on leg over another and moved it up and down.

This was going to be a long bus ride. Hopefully she could ditch these jokers once they arrived at Kalm. Who's to say that the hooded man would go to the same place as these people? Tourists weren't exactly her kind of people. They seemed over excited at every little thing that they deemed out of the ordinary.

"Yuffie."

"Uh, what?" Ms. Alm snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the ninja girl.

"The name's Yuffie Kisaragi!" Yuffie nearly shouted at Ms. Alm.

Ms. Allm blinked, "Nice to meet you, Yuffie…My name's Verna Alm. Just call me Verna, Ms. Alm sounds old." She crossed her arms and leaned the back of her head against the window. Being called Ms. Alm in a non-professional situation was too formal for her taste.

"Like I would call you Ms. Alm," Yuffie squirmed in her seat looking rather pale.

"Hey," Verna reached out and touched the young girl's shoulder, "Are you feeling alright?"

"I feel sick…"

Verna held in a laugh, it must be motion sickness. Poor thing. She glanced around until she saw a bathroom in the back of the bus. Nodding to herself, she made note if Yuffie looked like she was actually going to be sick.

"Go back there if you need to vomit, I don't exactly care for having someone throw up on me," Verna watched her cautiously. "We should be there soon, anyways."

"Mmm," Yuffie groaned in reply. This was the last time she rode the bus.

Verna's ears twitched as she heard an elderly couple a few seats away gossip. A man in a black cloak? Subconsciously she leaned towards them, trying to get into a better hearing range. She closed her eyes, blocking her visual sense to heighten her auditory sense.

"I told you, I saw him!" The woman stated as she nudged her husband. "His cloak hid most of his features, but I know it was him!"

"And how did you know it was Sephiroth?"

"Under the cloak you could see his glowing eyes! That's what he's rumored to have right?"

"So it could just be some freak!"

"But he also had a long sword, and it had blood on it! Blood!"

"Excuse me," Verna piped up as she moved closer to the couple. "I'm writing a news article on the late President's death and I couldn't help but over hear you. Was the sword by any chance thin?"

"Yes, it was!" The woman nodded eagerly. "You believe me don't you!"

Verna took out her camera and went through her pictures until she landed on a close up wound from the president, "I have a picture of the fatal wound the President received. Could you by any chance look at it and tell me if you think that the wound could have been inflicted by the sword you've seen?"

"Of course…" The woman said just above a mere whisper.

Verna handed her the camera. The woman's hand shot up to her face and she quivered ever so slightly. The woman's pale blue eyes met Verna's green ones and nodded. Verna frowned. This was just more evidence to suggest Sephiroth killed the late President.

"Thank you very much," Verna took the camera back and looked at the picture. "Do you mind if I use you as an eye witness, I won't use your name. I can't even use my own name with something as dangerous as this."

"Go ahead," The woman nodded.

At that moment Yuffie got up and ran to the bathroom. Verna turned around. She must have seen the picture causing her to finally lose it. Sighing, she sat back and stared out the window. She wasn't sure how to take the fact that Sephiroth might be the killer, he was her hero.

"Uh…" Verna shot up from her seat and stared out the window. A weird dog whose tail appeared to be on fire and a man with a gun on his arm was just past. She stood up and tried to get a better look as the figures grew smaller and smaller by the second.

"Could that have been…AVALANCHE?" She whispered to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

"Get back on the bus by 8 in the morning tomorrow, alright?" the bus driver warned everyone as they left to explore the small town of Kalm.

Multiple tourists were already taking pictures of seemingly nothing. The town was interesting in the slightest – at least in Verna's opinion. Sighing, she got off the bus and clutched her purse to her side. Yuffie stumbled off the bus after her. She looked back at the girl and smiled softly. Yuffie still looked pale. Why did she go on this bus if she had an issue with motion sickness?

"You feeling alright?" Verna crossed her arms to the young ninja.

"Just fine…" She sighed as she stomped her feet.

"Come on. Let's go get something to eat."

"I don't want to eat, now, though!"

"You're not on the bus and you need to eat to keep your strength up," Verna grabbed the ninja's arm and drug her to the local pub there. "I'll pay if it'll get you to eat."

"Won't reject free food," Yuffie now walked by herself in a rather cheerful manner. Verna had to roll her eyes; she was starting to regret offering her food. She had no idea what kind of appetite the girl had.

"You're only getting one serving of food and it better not be the most expensive thing on the menu," Verna warned the girl.

"I'll order what I want," Yuffie stuck her tongue out at her.

"If you order a reasonably priced meal and only one meal, I will go ahead and buy you a Materia."

Yuffie ran in front of her and stopped, "You better not be kidding!"

"Now why would I kid about something like that?" Verna smirked to herself. "I think I'm correct in that one Materia would be cheaper than spending money on food for you. Am I right?"

"You have a point! But I want some good Materia, not an All Materia! Something like Ice, or Lightning, oh!" She nodded swiftly, "Fire Materia! I want some Fire Materia!"

"Alright," Verna sighed. This girl was simply exhausting.

Her mind began to wander, as did her eyes, while Yuffie endlessly yapped. Her eyes landed on something dark moving in the shadows. She knitted her eyebrows together. She strayed from Yuffie's side and ran to where she saw the shadow. It was something large. Could it be?

"No way," Her excitement was growing. The shadow moved around a corner. Her feet moved faster as she swung around the corner, a wide grin was on her face.

The shadow was fast, but Verna kept her eyes on it. Her legs carried her fast as the shadow rounded another corner. Arriving at the corner, Verna stopped running as she walked into the alley way. Then, she frowned. There was no shadowy figure in the alley way. Her hand dropped from the purse she was clutching to her side. At best she was disappointed. Verna honestly thought she saw something in the alley way. No, she was positive she saw something.

Narrowing her eyes, the girl walked further into the alley way and glanced around. She didn't see anything, and she was at a dead end. There weren't any fire escapes to use to escape, so that possibility was out.

"Tch," Verna scoffed and turned around when she was at the end.

Her eyes widened as she froze in place. Blood was on the ground, blood that wasn't there before. She gulped and examined herself, she wasn't bleeding. Looking back up she clamped her mouth shut with her hand to keep her from screaming.

Some pale thing was in front of her. It appeared to be a humanoid, but it had no head. It was bleeding profusely. What was this thing? By the looks of it, it was a woman, but…Could it have been murdered!? No, it wasn't a human. At least it didn't look like one…She then noticed someone was holding onto the body.

Her eyes traveled up the arm and eventually a cloak. Her pupils grew larger as her adrenaline was pumping. They had to adjust for her to see in such a crucial moment. Then, her large pupils met that of slit ones. Her heart pounded. There was no denying who was in front of her.

"Sephiro—!" She was cut short by a free hand slamming her neck and forcing her into the wall.

She would have screamed, but her throat was being crushed. Verna's hands shot up to grab the man's one hand. She tried to force them off, but she had too little strength to do so. Weak sounds escaped from her lips. She couldn't breathe. Tears built up in her eyes. The salty drops of liquid blurred her vision. Though, this didn't stop her from looking at the man strangling her.

She could see under his cloak as he was looking up at her. His chin was firm and his skin pale. His eyebrows were bent downwards showing anger. Though, his eyes better illustrated his wrath. They glowed with fury, but there was something else hidden within them. Something sadder was locked up in the very pathway to the man's soul. Verna focused on that as she realized her hero was going to kill her.

"Hey!" A high pitched voice shouted as if it were looking for something. "Verna, where did you run off to!?"

"Yuffie…" Verna managed to say as the man's grip loosened on her throat, but it was far too quiet for her to hear.

Yuffie's voice sounded far away. She seemed irritated. No doubt the ninja was thinking that Verna ditched her so she wouldn't have to buy any food or Materia. Sephiroth backed off and dropped Verna to the ground. He couldn't risk being seen in this state, not when he had his Mother with him. Besides, this mere girl wasn't even worth his time. Quickly, he jumped up to the roof of a building.

Verna clutched her throat and glanced upwards at the seemingly impossible task. The sudden movement sent her into a coughing fit as her airways opened up. Tears were in her eyes, both out of pain and sorrow. Her heart seemed to be stabbed from the actions of her forgotten hero. Though, what was she expecting? It was rumored that Sephiroth killed the late president. Was she really expecting Sephiroth to just smile, give her an autograph and take a picture with her? Highly unlikely.

"Verna!" Yuffie's voice bounced off of the alley's walls. "What are you doing on the ground!?"

The ninja ran towards her, but stopped at the puddle of blood. She looked slightly dizzy at the sight, but continued towards the photojournalist. She bent down and checked for any wounds were bleeding, but the ninja found none.

"What happened?" Yuffie questioned as she helped Verna to her feet.

"It's nothing, just a little scuffle," Verna shook her head and averted her eyes to the ground. She couldn't tell her what actually happened. No, the girl was too young to be worrying about things like Sephiroth.

Verna walked out of the alley way – more like stumbled- and turned back to Yuffie, "Let's get that food and Materia I promised you."

A couple of hours later, Verna and Yuffie walked out of the Materia store. Exhaustion was evident on Verna's face. Yuffie took an hour and a half trying to decide which Materia she wanted. She finally went ahead with the fire Materia. For a moment or two, Verna was questioning buying some for herself. However, she hadn't the slightest idea on how to use it.

"Verna, why are you still dressed like a Turk?" Yuffie questioned the photojournalist.

"I had to leave Midgar right after I finished my investigation, I didn't have time to change."

"Do you have any clothes then?"

Verna sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "No. In fact I don't have anything…" The sudden thought caused her to freeze. "M-My baby…I left my baby at home!"

Yuffie's eyes widened, "You left your kid at home!?"

Verna fell to her knees and leaned against a random building's wall. Her shoulder shook as she began to dramatically sob. She kept muttering to herself. Yuffie watched her with a hesitant look. What was the ninja supposed to do to consult the girl a few years older than her?

"It'll be okay, I'm sure the kid will be fine," Yuffie tried to comfort the other girl.

Verna let out a light laugh as she began to calm down, "It's not a kid." She stood up and brushed off some dirt that managed to collect on her knees. "It's my laptop. Without it I can't work on the news stories."

"Really?" Yuffie looked at her as if she wanted to kill her.

"Um...Yeah," Verna gulped. She was rather immature at that moment. "Sorry…Anyways, I'm going to go and get some clothes." She glanced over at Yuffie. "Do you want to come with?"

Yuffie shook her head, "I need to get out of this town before they force me back onto the bus! Besides, I want to try out the Materia you bought me!"

"If you say so," Verna looked at the ninja, "It was nice to meet you."

"Yeah, same here!" Yuffie nodded. "Here!"

Verna looked at the out stretched hand in front of her. In it was some gil. Was Yuffie trying to pay her back for the food and the Materia? She tilted her head and looked at the ninja.

"It's some gil I stole from you!" Yuffie laughed and put it in her hand before sprinting away.

"Wait, what!?" Verna screamed after her. When did the girl steal her money!? She really must be a ninja. The little-!

Sighing, Verna turned the opposite direction and glanced at some of the shops. There wasn't all that much. The only thing that might have clothes is an armor shop. Shaking her head, she opened the door. A bell rung, signaling her entrance, causing the owner looked u. He seemed slightly hesitant.

"I'm not a Turk," Verna rolled her eyes reading the man's mind. At this new found knowledge the owner relaxed ever so slightly. "Do you have any clothes that won't make me look like a Turk?"

The owner raised an eyebrow and nodded, "We have some things. What exactly are you looking for?"

"Shoes, pants, shirt, jacket?" Verna shrugged not exactly sure what she wanted.

"Alright," The owner mumbled and went behind the counter checking through some boxes. Alas, he found nothing, "Let me check the back."

"Take your time," Verna nodded her head. As the man left, she wandered around the shop. There were all sorts of armor. Some of it actually looked like it could be some sort of jewelry. "What's this?" She lifted some sort of armlet.

At that moment the man came back, "That's a Mythril Armlet. It lets you hold two different Materias. It only costs 350 gil. You want it? Heck, I'll even throw it in for free if you buy the clothes."

Verna looked over to some clothes that were held in the man's arms, "How much for the clothes?"

"Well," The man scratched his chin as he laid them out. "The shirt," he motioned to a short sleeved turtle neck shirt, "Will cost 100 gil. As for the green pants, those will be another 100 gil. The jacket'll cost you 250 gil and the boots will cost 200 gil."

"Alright," Verna nodded as she counted out the gil that Yuffie stole from her, she could have sworn she had more. "I only have six hundred on me."

"I'll take your heels," The man motioned to the girl's shoes. "That should offset the cost. Besides, my kids been wanting some heels instead of the boots she has."

Verna's eye twitched, as she realized that the clothes she was getting were someone else's clothes. Still, it would be better than being called a Turk all the time. Sighing, she nodded and removed her shoes and placed them on the counter.

"You got a deal," The man took the heels and gil from Verna and handed her the slightly used clothes. "Thank you very much. Please come again!"

Verna held her things close to herself and muttered under her breath, "Highly unlikely."

Once out of the scam of a shop, she went straight to the inn. She wanted to just get a room and change into her new clothes. Upon opening the door she was met with a rather particular scene. A large man with a gun on his arm was at the front desk, hitting it multiple times. Verna narrowed her eyes, wasn't he the same guy that the bus past?

"I want a damn room! Make that two rooms with two beds each!" The man demanded.

"Y-yes sir," The front desk person typed away on her computer. Upon looking at the screen the front desk person paled, "I'm afraid we're all book out tonight, sir."

"Do I look like I care?!" The man demanded. "Just give us one room if that's all you have!"

"We don't even have a single room left."

"Then make a new room!"

"Sir, please step aside while I see what I can do."

"Excuse me," Verna approached the front desk person as the man stepped aside. "Do you by chance have a room reserved for a girl named Yuffie?" She figured that since Yuffie left then the man could use that one.

"Hang on," The front desk person typed away, "Yes, are you with the tourist group?"

"Unfortunately," Verna sighed. "I'm actually Verna Alm, but Yuffie left our group and she's no longer in Kalm, so the room shouldn't be in use."

"Is that so?" The front desk person checked for Verna's name to see if it was in the system. In fact it was. "It looks like we have a room that just opened up, then." She glanced over to the man who was glaring daggers at Verna. "Well," the front desk person quickly looked back to the computer and reached under the desk. "Here's your room key, Ms. Alm."

"Thanks," Verna took it and glanced at the man with the gun. "Got you a roo—Why are you glaring at me?"

"You with Shin-Ra?" The man narrowed his eyes.

"Are you a member of AVALANCHE?" Verna quirked an eyebrow. That would be why he seemed to already have such a strong disliking for her.

"Tch, what's a Turk like you doing here?" The man questioned in a rather demanding tone.

"I don't know, you'd have to actually ask a Turk, seeing as I'm not one," Verna smirked at the man. "Hope you enjoy your room."

With that the girl left the man standing there to steam in his own anger. Now, she just wanted to get some sleep.

-A/N—

You guys should see my notebook I have with plans for the story…I doodled a bus that was going to Kalm, then I have the Chocobo farm, the Midgar Zolom in the marsh and then Junon…I couldn't think of Junon's name while I was drawing the map, so I just called it "That Coastal City." _ Then I crammed in a bunch of different notes for chapter 4 to 7…Hopefully I remember it's actually there, haha. Anyways, I think the love interest will be Rufus Shinra. Since…I have a plot plan for that. _ I just hope I can keep him in character.

Also, if you want to see what Verna looks like here's a picture I drew of her: /d5xheot

Thanks to Cosara Peregringale for the review~!

Please review~!


	5. Chapter 5

A sudden knocking on the door awakened Verna from her slumber. Groaning, the girl sat up and ran a hand through her hair. She glanced towards the door to whoever was still knocking on it persistently.

"Coming," Verna called out and the knocking ceased. She opened the door to see a man dressed in what would be a tourist get up. "Can I help you?"

"The bus is leaving! Are you ready to go?"

Verna blinked, "Hang on."

Verna left the door open as she poked her head into the room's restroom. Her appearance wasn't all too shabby, even if she did sleep in her non-Turk clothes. She ran a hand through her hair once more just to make sure it didn't look like she just woke up. When it was good enough, she grabbed her purse that was lazily lying on an end table and walked out of her room. The tourist grinned at her as he quickly walked down the stairs. Verna followed him, silently cursing the tourist and all of his kind.

Upon getting on the bus and finding a relatively empty area, the drive spoke over the intercom system, "We will be heading for Junon, but we'll make a quick stop at the Chocobo farms on the way. We'll be there for lunch. Then, we'll go through the marsh."

"Marsh?" Verna questioned quietly. Wasn't the Zolom there? She gulped slightly, that monster wasn't something to mess with. What was this tourist company thinking?

Verna glanced over at the tourists. They seemed to grow excited about going across the marsh. None of them looked scared. That's when she realized something. These tourists seemed eager to meet Sephiroth and they were at Midgar shortly after President Shinra died. These weren't just your everyday tourists, these are extreme tourists.

Verna stood up and walked to the front of the bus as it began to drive off. She stopped when she was just behind the bus drive, "Exactly what are we going to do at the marsh? Are we planning on stopping?"

"Probably," The bus driver nodded. "These folks will just want to see the Zolom for themselves. They didn't just come to this continent for no reason after all. Other tourists tend to just go to Costa del Sol or the Golden Saucer, even Wutai."

"And will we be in any danger?"

"Probably not, we won't slow down enough for it to attack us, but if we run into head on there's not much we can do."

"And can anyone on here fight it?"

"Well, you're a Turk, so you can fight it, can't you?"

"But I'm not a Turk!"

"Right, right, you're on vacation," The bus driver rolled his eyes, "Just sit back down."

Verna glared at the man before retaking her seat. Was this man insane? She crossed her arms and glanced out the window. Maybe she should have gotten a weapon or some Materia. Then again, she wasted all of her money on Yuffie.

Sighing, Verna checked her cell phone for the time. It was just past 8. Having nothing better to do, she dialed her boss's number. It took a few rings before there was a gruff hello on the other side.

"Hey," Verna paused and allowed her boss to do the proper introduction for when anyone talks on the phone. "Listen, I don't have my laptop with me. You sort of sent me out of Midgar before I could grab it. Do you have any way that I can get it?"

A loud laughter was heard on the other line, causing Verna to hold her phone away from her ear. "I've already sent it to Junon. It'll be in a house closest to when you first get there, on the right. It's in the lower city, so don't even think about going up the elevator until you get the laptop!"

"Alright, fine," Verna sighed and leaned back. "Then when I get there can I ditch these tourists? You know I hate them."

"Yeah, yeah," Her boss nodded while he was on the other line. "You'll just need to figure out a way to get to the other continent. I heard Rufus was planning on going over there and that can only mean one thing!"

"Sephiroth…" Verna whispered so only her boss could hear her. "Speaking of which, I had a little encounter with him."

"Oh?" She could hear her boss leaning forward.

"Yeah," Verna scowled, "He only just tried to kill me. I guess the rumors going about him are actually true. Do you think I should put that in the story?"

"No," her boss seemed to go serious. "If we flat out state that it's actually him and that you were attacked by him then we'll lose our readers. It could also put a huge target on your back. Not only would Shin-Ra be after you, but Sephiroth could also be after you."

"If you say so," Verna frowned. She didn't realize this would be so dangerous.

"Speaking of which, your first chapter was published today. Shin-Ra's already in an uproar about it!" Her boss laughed, but it caused Verna to frown even more. "They're trying to shut us down, but they still don't even know where we are! Still, we're going to have to move location again. Can't be too safe."

"At least I won't be there to help you move," Verna smirked.

A few hours have passed after Verna spoke with her boss. The bus finally arrived at the Chocobo farms. Verna got off quickly. The tourist's excitement for the Midgar Zolom was getting to her. How idiotic could they be? They were all going to get killed by that monster! Still, she was stuck with those idiots until she got to Junon.

She watched as some of the tourists wandered off to get lunch. Verna sighed. She had no money left after Yuffie's theft. She did have a credit card, but she doubted that the farm would take it. Clicking her tongue in agitation, she leaned against a fence that contained the chocobos. She smiled at the animal's careless attitude. They certainly were something. Perhaps she could end up retiring on the country side –maybe at Kalm- and own a chocobo or two.

"Do you like them?"

"Hmm?" Verna turned around and looked down at a young girl that was smiling at them. "The chocobos? They're pretty cool."

"Do you want one? You can use it to travel the Midgar Marsh without the Zolom attacking you."

"Is that so?" Verna quirked an eyebrow. "I don't have any money on me right now, so I have to stick with the tourist group."

"You're a tourist?" The girl tilted her head. "You look more like you're a traveler looking for something."

"Well, that's true," Verna nodded. "I just need a way to get around this continent, so I have to use them."

"Alright," The girl nodded and tilted her cow-girl hat up. "Well, if you need a Chocobo, you can come here. We'll even teach you how to catch one!"

"I'll keep that in mind," The girl ran off and at that moment, the tourist group started to load back onto the bus. "And now it's time to go back to Hell…" Verna shook her head and walked back on the bus. She made sure to take the same seat she sat in earlier.

"What the…?"

Verna got off the bus as did everyone else. Everyone was silent at the sight before them. They knew that the Midgard Zolom wasn't there in the Marsh, but they didn't realize what happened, until now. A tree gashed through its entire being. It was brutally killed. There was only one person that Verna could think of that could have killed the Zolom like that.

She took a picture before getting back on the bus with everyone else.

It took only an hour or two before the tourists arrived at Junon. Verna was the first one off the bus as she wanted to get away from them as soon as possible. Once she was far away from them she looked for the house her boss was talking about.

After finding it, Verna knocked on the front door. An elderly woman opened it and quirked an eyebrow.

"Are you Ms. Lane?"

"Lane?" Verna narrowed her eyes at the strange name. However, she realized that it was her alias that she was using. "Uh, yes. I'm Elizabeth Lane. I'm here to pick up my laptop."

"Of course, deary!" The old lady ushered Verna in. She then motioned towards the front desk. "You know, I just read your news article and I found it to be intriguing. Do you honestly think that Sephiroth has turned?"

"If you read further posts you'll find out what I think," Verna smiled and then lied, "I'm still not sure what I think."

"Well, if that's so, I hope you get to writing your article!" The old woman handed Verna her laptop. Verna looked at her puzzled. "Well get to it! You can stay here for the night! Besides, the young Rufus Shinra won't be here for his welcoming until tomorrow."

"That's very kind of you ma'am, but I-!"

"I won't hear of it, Ms. Lane! Now get to it!" The woman scolded.

After a few hours, Verna finally finished her article.

It can only be expressed with great sorrow that President Shinra has been murdered. The brutish act was committed within his office. Authorities have yet to release details on the crime, as the investigation is ongoing. However, the public is growing antsy as they thirst for clues and eventually a culprit.

It's already been suspected that Sephiroth has turned against Shin-Ra, but he has been thought to be dead. Though, new details have come up that suspect this forgotten hero of the Wutai War is still alive. People have reported sighting of this ex-first class SOLDIER. Not only that, but there is physical evidence to support the theory that Sephiroth lives on.

In an investigation of Shin-Ra headquarters, I found the late president's body. He was still in his office, as authorities have yet to remove him. The man was lying face down on his desk. Through his back was a stab wound. It was a very thin and fine stab. The sword that Sephiroth used to wield was very thin and would finely slice through any of his enemies. Sephiroth most certainly could have gotten through security without getting a scratch on him. Could Sephiroth have murdered the late President Shinra? Or could it have been someone else?

Throughout my investigation of the building, I ventured onto the main elevator. Glass was shattered everywhere. As it went up I saw the neighboring elevator. Mechanical fiends that were developed by Shin-Ra were destroyed. Next to these robots were bullets. Sephiroth has never been known to use a gun. My thoughts immediately went to AVALANCHE. Further on in my investigation, I came upon a sort of destroyed containment unit that was destroyed from the outside. Above the unit was the name plate that read JENOVA. Could AVALANCHE have retrieved whatever this thing was, or could it have been Sephiroth?

My investigation left me with more questions than answers. What exactly is going on with Shin-Ra Inc.? As I continue my travels around Gaia I can only hope I find these answers. With the sightings of Sephiroth spreading and the activity of AVALANCHE following him, I too will follow these two mysteries. The journey will be dangerous, but I will make sure that the Forgotten Hero is once more remembered and the truth is brought to light.

-A/N—

So I have a question for you guys. I've decided that I want this fan-fic to have a love interest of Rufus Shinra. However, I'm debating on how I want to portray his character. After reading the novella for him, I have some notes on him, but very few fans of Final Fantasy VII have actually read him. I was thinking of having him of a man that tries to stay composed whenever someone else is nearby. He shuts off his emotions whenever he speaks to people and is very too the point. He doesn't like it when people ignore him – as his father ignored him often. He also tends to criticize people often and doesn't give others the chance to criticize him. This comes from his father always criticizing others.

However, despite him trying not to show emotions to others believe that he's actually rather emotional when he's by himself. He has a hard time controlling his laughter. At times he might use laughter as a defense. This can be shown when Cloud kills Dark Nation he bursts out laughing.

Rufus also shows signs that he shows guilt and that he can care for others. Rufus has others do the dirty work for him, and he doesn't do it directly. For example, he had Palmer go get Tiny Bronco, while he waited outside. He also doesn't show signs that he hurts a large group of people for the better – unlike his father who destroyed Sector 7 just to find AVALANCHE. Instead, Rufus just has his Turks go out to look for them. He also takes responsibility for his company's mistakes and tries to make up for them.

To help support that he cares for others is through the loyalty of his Turks. Rude, Reno, Tseng and Elena stay with him even when most of the employees at Shin-Ra quit. They also forgot about the Meteor to help find Rufus. He also saved the Turks from being killed, even after his father gave the command.

So…He hides his emotions when there are others, but when he's by himself his shell cracks. Does this sound like how Rufus would behave to you guys? TT_TT I'm struggling with this since Rufus is a minor character compared to everyone else!…So yeah, haha. _

TT_TT All of the pass keys of the late president is the same number as Rufus's birthday...Rufus thought his dad hated him! Gah! *sobs in corner*


	6. Chapter 6

"Ms. Lane!" Verna woke up with someone shaking her. "Thank goodness you awoke. There are some people who would like to take a rest, so I thought you should know."

"Huh?" Verna rubbed her eyes and looked at the old woman. "Alright."

"I'm going to let them in, if that's alright," The old woman paused and looked at her. "You look like you could use a shower. If you go down the hall to the left you'll find the restroom. Go ahead and wash up there, deary. If you'd like I'll wash your clothes and leave you a fresh change of clothes. Your boss managed to send you some. Oh, and I'll also leave you a towel to use!"

Verna tried to process everything that the old lady was telling her. Absent mindedly she nodded and shifted her legs so they were dangling over the bed's side. She then stood up. Finally, she realized what the lady said, so she quickly made her way to the bathroom.

Gently, Verna closed the door so she wouldn't make that much noise. Verna quickly stripped from her clothing and placed them on the counter, so they were somewhat folded. Quickly, Verna glanced at her reflection. Her face was covered in dirt – most likely courtesy of the chocobo farms. Under the dirt, however, she was still rather pale. Living in Midgar would do that to anyone. There wasn't any sunlight, after all. Her eyes trailed down her body. She was average, nothing special. Sighing she looked back up to her eyes. That was the only attribute about her physical appearance that she actually liked.

Her eyes were green with a blue ring on the outside. Perhaps her eyes were blue with an inner green ring. She couldn't be certain. Still, she enjoyed her eyes, even when others called her freaky for having them. She didn't mind, being different was something to treasure.

Noting that the elderly woman would return soon, Verna jumped into the shadow and hid behind the curtain. She then turned on the water. A string of curses flew out her mouth as she was met with chilly water. Verna hugged the tile wall, refusing to let the water touch her. However, as the steam started to appear she eased herself into the water. Sighing, she felt blissful as the dirt was removed from her skin.

After a few minutes she heard the door open and then closed. Verna poked her head from behind the shower curtain to see a change of clothes and a towel. Realizing she was in the shower long enough, she turned off the water and got out. She quickly wrapped the towel around her body before examining the clothes in front of her. Her eye twitched, was this a soldier's uniform?

"What on Gaia is he thinking?!" Verna yelled at the clothes. "Shiva! Can't he realize that I don't want people thinking I'm a part of Shin-Ra!?"

"Is everything alright in there, deary?" The elderly woman sounded from behind the door.

"Peachy!" Verna replied through gritted teeth. "I just have to call my boss and tell him how much I appreciate the new clothes!" Sarcasm was a venomous leech stuck to her words.

The old lady chuckled and walked away. Verna sighed and dried off before putting on the new clothes. She glanced at the mirror. In these clothes one couldn't tell if she was a male or female. She better just keep her mouth shut so others wouldn't realize who she was. After all, females aren't allowed to be soldiers. If they want to be in the war they could be behind the scenes; snipers, medics, engineers, Turks even. Though, they couldn't be soldiers.

Verna walked out of the bathroom and into the main room. There, she was met with a sudden movement. A barrage of weapons was pointed at her. Her eyes widened and she stumbled backwards.

"Wh-what's going on!?" Verna held her hands in front of her.

She peaked through her hands and noticed there were several people in the room. A girl held her fists up, while another held out a staff. A weird dog growled at her. A man pointed his hand at her, and upon closer inspection it was a gun. Wait, didn't she meet him at Kalm!? Then, her eyes landed on a foreign weapon of a girl with shorter hair.

"Yuffie?" Verna questioned the young ninja.

Yuffie lowered her weapon and narrowed her eyes, "Is that you Verna?"

Verna lifted her hood from her face. Yuffie dropped her weapon and ran over to hug the girl. This very action caused everyone else to lower their weapons. Verna awkwardly patted the girl on the back. She never received hugs, so she wasn't exactly sure what to do in this sort of situation.

"What are you doing here, Yuffie?"

"I could be asking you the same thing! Did the tourist bus end up here?"

"Yeah," Verna nodded. "I managed to ditch them." She then glanced at the rest of the weapon wielders. "Interesting friends you have."

"Yup!" Yuffie let go of Verna and nodded enthusiastically. "I was just so awesome that they just had to ask me to join them! This is AVALANCHE by the way!"

"I know," Verna smirked as Yuffie became puzzled. "I ran into him at Kalm. He didn't deny being a part of AVALANCHE when I asked him. Of course he thought I was a Turk at the time. How do you like my new disguise?"

"Are you some sort of damn Shin-Ra wanna be?" The man questioned in an angry tone.

"On the contrary," Verna crossed her arms. "I'm writing a series of news articles on Sephiroth and Shin-Ra." She managed to leave out AVALANCHE. "I work for an underground newspaper, so Shin-Ra's already after me. To make matters worse I snuck into Shin-Ra headquarters the night after President Shinra was killed by Sephiroth."

"So you know it was him?" The girl in a pink dress questioned.

"It doesn't take a master mind to figure that one out," Verna rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I'm Verna, Verna Alm. But if you read my paper I'm Elizabeth Lane."

"Nice to meet you," the girl with a white top smiled. "I'm Tifa. Grumpy over there," she motioned to the man with the gun on his arm. "Is Barrett."

"I'm Aerith," The girl in the pink dressed grinned.

"Rex XIII."

"Yuffie!" Yuffie jumped up just seemingly wanting to be a part of the conversation.

Suddenly, music began to play, causing everyone to jump at the unexpected noise. Verna glanced towards the window and at the upper city. There was something going on, that's for sure. Perhaps Rufus has arrived. Her eyes widened. Her boss was going to kill her if she didn't get there to write a news story for it.

"I have to get my things and go! It was nice speaking with you!" Verna made a movement to go to the bedroom, but was stopped at the sudden noise.

"Wait!" Tifa called for her, "You're going after Rufus, right?"

Verna glanced back at her and nodded, "Yeah. I need a news story for him."

Tifa smiled, "Your uniform gave me an idea. We could sneak onto the ship that he's going to take to get to Costa del Sol. We could all get on the ship. Are you in?"

Verna took a moment or two to think things over. Smiling, she nodded. This would be better. After all, everyone would write a story about Rufus in Junon. If she could get a more interesting story things would be better.

"Great, I'll just go wake Cloud up," Tifa paused. "He's our friend. Your things are in the bedroom, right? You can come with me."

"Alright," Verna followed the girl.

"So why are you writing this story?" Tifa questioned and looked at her with a serious expression.

"Sephiroth was my hero…I want to say he still is, but I ran into him at Kalm. He tried to kill me."

"I hate Sephiroth."

"What?" Verna looked at the girl. "Why?"

Tifa glanced at her and sighed, "He killed my father and almost everyone else who lived in Nibleheim."

"So he was responsible for that?" Verna looked at Tifa slightly shocked. "I wasn't sure if it was true…But after everything's that happened." She frowned.

Tifa smiled lightly, "Sorry to ruin your mood."

"No, it's fine," Verna nodded. "The truth may hurt, but if one doesn't know the truth it will hurt even further down the road."

"I wish I could tell him that…" Tifa whispered to no one. Not wanting to pry Verna didn't bother asking her what it was about. The two then grabbed their things and woke up a man with a natural bed head.

Verna glanced at the members of AVALANCHE. They were all wearing disguises. Most of them were sailors, but Aerith and Cloud were dressed in a soldier uniforms. Verna held in a laugh at Red XIII as he clumsily attempted to walk like a human. At best he looked like a drunk person.

"Hey, you!" Verna froze as someone yelled at her. She turned around and pointed at herself. "Yes, you!" A soldier in a red uniform came storming up to her, "You ditching the parade?" The man sneered causing Verna to gulp, "Come with me!"

She glanced as the group she's temporarily joined as they watched nervous. As the man dragged her away they realized there was nothing they could do without bringing attention to themselves, so they ran off.

"You're going to watch over the President as your punishment!" The man ordered.

Verna's eyes widened. She wanted to get on the ship and have a better news story, but she most certainly did not want to be this close to the new president. Her cover had the potential to be blown. She nodded hesitantly, she couldn't say anything, or else her cover would definitely be blown.

-A/N—

I know, it's sexist that they can't be soldiers. However, after looking at our history, women are just now able to become soldiers. Like…This year…In the United States that is. So I figured if Final Fantasy VII came out in 1997, then it would be safe to say that women couldn't be soldiers.

Yes, I'm having the Cetra's name be Aerith and not Aeris. In most games it is Aerith…Just in the original – due to a mistranslation – it's Aeris.

Please R&R…Reno and Rude… _ Actually…Rate and review…


	7. Chapter 7

"What's the matter soldier?" The man in the red uniform questioned Verna. "Why haven't you said anything?"

Verna gulped. Her voice would give it away that she was a female. She pointed to her mouth and shook her head. Hopefully the other soldier would buy that she just couldn't speak at all. Her eyes watched the real soldier as he nodded in understanding.

"At least you won't get on Heidegger's nerves by saying anything," The red soldier sighed. "If I were you I'd stay clear of the man. If he gets angry he'll most likely beat the living daylights out of you."

Verna's eyes widened. That most certainly wouldn't be good. If she were to be punched then her hood had the possibility of falling off, which meant that everyone would discover she was a girl. Should that happen, then her cover for working for the underground newspaper would be blown.

"Alright, we're here," The commanding officer stopped on the boat. "President Rufus and Heidegger aren't here yet, but make sure you don't slack off. If they walk in and you're goofing around that'll look bad on my part. Got it?"

Verna nodded her head and walked into room. She glanced around. It was nothing spectacular. In all honesty she had to question why Rufus was even taking this boat. Wasn't he the president of Shin-Ra Inc.? Couldn't he take something more spectacular instead of this ran down ship? Verna frowned at the thought, maybe Sephiroth was seen on this ship which would be why he was getting on it. Then again, why would he risk his life for something such as this?

Avoiding the many endless void of questions – that is her mind – Verna looked out the window and towards the rest of the boat. She held back a smile as she noticed AVALANCHE get to their places. At least she wasn't alone on this ship. If anything were to happen she could go and find them.

Verna deviated her attention from AVALANCHE and towards the door that opened. Verna gulped slightly and saluted the two people who made their way into the room. Hopefully she gave a good enough impression.

"At ease, soldier," the smooth voice of the man dressed in white commanded as he walked past Verna. Verna slowly stopped saluting as Rufus glanced at her, "Your commanding officer informed us that you can't talk, is that correct?" Verna nodded. "How inconvenient."

Verna felt a drop of sweat run down her face. Did he really just insult her for not having the capability to talk? She wanted to protest and actually speak, but that would contradict what she previously informed the new president. She glanced over to Heidegger who looked like he wanted to strangle her. Verna fought back the urge to run away from the two men and looked through the space between them. Both were intimidating beyond all belief.

She narrowed her eyes at something moving outside the window. Glancing back at Rufus and Heidegger, it seemed that neither one of them spotted the figure. Looking back over, she quirked an eyebrow at realizing it was just Barrett in his sailor uniform. Sighing in relief, she glanced back over to Rufus and Heidegger, they didn't realize he was there.

"Now Heidegger," Rufus spoke calmly, but a patch was ice was lying under his voice. "You informed me that the air ship would be ready to use to get to our destination. Did you lie to me?"

"No, sir," Heidegger shook his head. "The crew informed me that it would be ready, but I only just found out that it'd be ready in three days."

"Perhaps it would have been in your best interest to inform me before I arrived at Junon," Rufus looked at the bearded man coldly.

"Well you know how things get, gyeheheh!" The old man gave out hoarse laugh making Verna flinch.

"What did I tell you about that insufferable laughter?" Rufus glared at the man. The man stopped laughing and looked away causing an uneasy silence to fill the room. "Now…Are you sure that Sephiroth nor Cloud and his friends made their way on board?"

Verna stiffened. Did Rufus know that she was there as well as the rest of them? Was he just trying to make her squirm? She glanced at Rufus and Heidegger. Neither of them seemed to be paying attention to her, nor Barrett for that matter.

"Positive, sir," Heidegger nodded. "There's no way they would have."

"Good," Rufus nodded slowly, "It's absolutely important that we find Sephiroth and that we stop Cloud and his friends. That is our top priority. Now our second priority is to close down that newspaper."

"Speaking of which sir," Heidegger took out a paper from his jacket. "A second chapter has been published."

Verna quirked an eyebrow. It was already published? She couldn't help feel a bit of pride as the president read her paper. However, that pride was turned to fear at his sudden reaction. The newspaper was torn into multiple pieces and left scattered about on the floor. Rufus's eyes held more fury than she saw in Sephiroth's.

"How did they get into the building?" Rufus scowled. "And not only that, but they post confidential information."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as it appears, people will believe it to be a lie."

Rufus turned around, "People are keen to believe anything negative they hear about my company thanks to the legacy of my father. Not only that, but they have photographic evidence to support their claims. Tell me how that isn't as bad as it appears. Now we need to be even more careful in the actions we pursue. We can only guess that the newspaper is delaying the news stories, so that this Elizabeth Lane can get ahead just enough to where we won't know where to find them. My guess is that they were at Junon when we were at Junon and they're on their way to Costa del Sol."

"I assure you they haven't gotten on this ship."

"You better stick to those words, Heidegger."

Verna grimaced at the harsh tone Rufus used. Even if Heidegger did seem like an unpleasant fellow, one shouldn't be spoken to in such a manner. Just then, her eyes glanced at another soldier peering into the window with Barrett. Verna glanced nervously at Rufus and Heidegger, but they showed no sign of spotting them. Then, a red light went on and the alarm sounded.

Verna jumped at the sound, as did Heidegger. Rufus, on the other hand, seemed completely calm. Verna glanced around the room seeing that there was no one there. Was someone found out?

"Attention! Attention! There is an intruder on the boat! Multiple casualties!"

Verna's eyes widened, did they kill someone? No it didn't seem like they were here to kill. It must have been Sephiroth. He had to be on board!

"You!" Heidegger ran over to Verna and grabbed her by the shoulders, "Do something! Damn it!" He shook Verna violently.

Verna's hood fell off her head and her hair came spilling out. She heard something hit the floor, but she couldn't take the time. She looked at the bearded man shaking her and at Rufus who was currently watching with a hint of amusement.

"Let go!" Verna suddenly shrieked and swung her leg up. "Damn…"  
Verna scowled and left Heidegger to bend over clutching his family jewels. Verna gulped and sprinted out the door. She didn't want to be here. Looking over the railing she noticed that AVALANCHE was all meeting. So they weren't caught?

"Verna!" Yuffie called her over.

Verna glanced over seeing Rufus picking something up, it was black and could have easily been a gun. Biting her lip, she jumped over the railing and landed somewhat gracefully. She glanced over at everyone's faces. They looked nervous.

"So the alarm didn't signal we were caught?" Tifa questioned. "What about you Verna?"

"Well," She shifted awkwardly. "I wasn't caught until just now, but that's not why the alarm went off. I think that-."

"Sephiroth's here," Cloud cut off. "Let's go find him."

"N-Not me! No way!" Yuffie stepped back and appeared to tremble where she stood. "Be-Besides I'm still feeling sick."

"Alright," Cloud nodded. "Tifa, Barrett, come with me. The rest of you need to hide. I'm sure they're aware that we're on the boat already." Cloud grabbed his sword and ran off with Tifa and Barrett close behind him.

"Come on," Aerith motioned them. "We have to hide and trust that they'll be fine. Besides, Costa del Sol isn't that far off."

Cloud knelt down to a few of the crew and checked their pulses. Nothing, they were all murdered. Clenching his teeth together he ran into the room that was blocked earlier by a soldier. He walked in cautiously and held his sword up for a protective measure. He motioned silently for Tifa and Barrett to follow him.

His glowing mako eyes looked forward. Before him was a man standing with long silver hair. He charged forward, but stumbled as Sephiroth seemed to disappear. His eyes widened as he followed the man. He seemed to be teleporting, was that even possible?

"Look out!" Tifa screamed and a large monster nearly landed on top of him. It must have come down from the ceiling.

Cloud growled as Sephiroth disappeared and they now had this thing to deal with.

Rufus examined the object in his hand. While Heidegger was mindlessly shaking the so called soldier this black thing managed to fall out of their pocket – perhaps it was a purse underneath the clothes. One eyebrow was raised as he looked at it closer. It was a camera. Now why would this person have a camera? Were they a member of AVALANCHE or some tourist, or maybe even?

Rufus turned the camera on and scrolled through the pictures. His face grew dark as he realized exactly who this person was. These were photographs that were in the newspaper of Shin-Ra's headquarters. She worked for the undercover newspaper.

He then held the strap and realized there was an odd texture on it. Upon examining it, he smirked. Calmly he took out his cell phone and dialed a number. Heidegger was still running around as if someone cut his head off.

"Tseng," Rufus spoke and he looked down on the camera strap that had a name written on it. "I want you to find out everything about this person. Her name is Verna Alm."

-A/N—

So I was playing Final Fantasy VII and my mom was nearby. Being in Junon Rude walked by and started screaming, "It's Rude! It's Rude!"

My mom in response asked, "What's rude?"

Yeah…I had to explain to her that the character named "Rude" just walked by…*sighs* Speaking of Rude, you know what's really funny? Fighting him using Tifa…He will never attack her. If he does he typically misses. Haha…


	8. Chapter 8

Too much of Verna's relief, the ship arrived at Costa del Sol in an hour or so. AVALANCHE was in a mad dash to get off of the ship. So much so, that Verna managed to lose track of them. She kept glancing around nervously, hoping she wouldn't see Rufus or Heidegger behind her back.

Her mind flashed back to when Heidegger had a firm hold of her. Verna was absolutely defenseless. She had nothing to protect herself with except for her dumb luck. She knew that had to change. Quickly, she went into Costa del Sol and found an ATM where she withdrew some gil, enough to last her for a while. She wanted to limit the number of times she used her credit card in case Shin-Ra grew suspicious of her locations mirroring that of Shin-Ra's.

Verna's eyes glanced around as she searched for a weapon shop. Upon finding it she walked inside. She wasn't sure what she wanted to get. Her eyes met that of a man lazily scanning through a magazine.

"Can I help you, miss?" The man raised an eyebrow. A woman as a soldier, was this a kind of joke?

"Yeah," Verna nodded her head. "I need a weapon."

"Well you came to the right place," the man rolled his eyes. "Anything specific you're looking for? We have all sorts of weapons."

"Do you have anything that's easy to conceal and easy to carry?"

The man nodded and reached under the counter before handing her a gun, "This could do the trick. You could hide it on you and it could easily kill something…Or someone."

Verna examined it. She didn't particularly care for firearms. She saw them as a sort of method for cheating in combat. One could have firearm, but very little skill and kill someone whose skill surpassed theirs. However, when it comes to survival and battling, there are no rules. Everything is fair game.

"I'll take it," Verna watched the man get out some paper work. "Will Shin-Ra get that?"

"'Course they will," The man looked at her. "Unless you pay extra."

Verna placed down an extra 100 gil, "Will that cover it?"

"Yep," The man pocketed the money. "I'll just say it broke and we couldn't sell it."

"Thanks," Verna nodded her head. "Now about ammo…"

"It's included with your purchase," The man grinned. "I have some of the best prices in all of Gaia for a reason. Even if this is a tourist spot I don't overcharge."

"That's very generous of you," Verna smiled as she was handed her gun and a box or two of ammo. "Thanks."

"Have a good day," the man nodded as Verna left the shop.

Verna glanced around the area before hiding in an alley way. Quickly, Verna stripped from her soldier's uniform; she wore some normal clothes underneath. Then, she took out her bag; the old lady swapped her purse out with something more apt for travel. Her hands dug through it as she searched for her jacket. Finding it she pulled it out. She looked back in her bag and froze. Her camera wasn't in there.

"Wh-Where is it!?" Verna squeaked. Her face was heating up as she believed she lost her camera – something that happened when she thought she forgot her homework when she was in school. "Oh no, no, no, no!"

She shook her head rapidly. She was sure she brought it on the ship. Her eyes widened as she realized something fell to the floor when Heidegger grabbed a hold of her. It must have been her camera.

Verna's hands shook as she took a hold of her phone. Quickly, she dialed the number of her boss. It rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" It wasn't her boss.

"Yes, um…Who am I speaking to?" Verna asked hesitant to who answered the phone.

"My name is Tseng," A male's voice sounded. "Am I safe in assuming that this is Verna Alm? Or should I say Elizabeth Lane."

Verna's eyes widened and she quickly hung up her phone. Did her boss not escape on time? No, she was sure he'd be out by today and Heidegger only mentioned that they just found them. Then, why was Tseng there? Did Rufus know about their location before then? Or can they really dispatch that quickly?

Verna jumped when her phone rang. She looked at it. It was an unknown number. Against her better judgment she answered her phone.

"Verna!" It was a cheery voice, one that she was familiar with.

"Boss!?" Verna sighed in relief and leaned against the alley wall. "I thought you were caught! Shiva!"

"Caught?" Her boss laughed, "I left yesterday. Did you call the office or something?"

"Yeah," Verna nodded her head, even if he couldn't see it. "A guy named Tseng answered. Listen, I have some bad news."

"What is it?" He grew quiet.

"I was on the ship and they had me watch over Rufus and Heidegger. Sephiroth was on board and that set off the alarm. Heidegger panicked and began to shake me. They saw my face, boss."

"Well if they just saw your face you'll just need to be careful with showing it! It doesn't mean they know who you are."

"And they have my camera and they apparently know my name."

"Oh…" Her boss was silent for a moment or two. "We'll figure something out. I'll send you a fake ID with a different name, but in the meantime just lay low and try to uncover any news stories that you can."

"Alright," Verna held her phone to her ear with her shoulder as she stuffed her previous uniform in her bag. "Any ideas of where I should go?"

Her boss was silent for a moment as he thought. He suddenly spoke, "Just go to the Golden Saucer for now. It's just past Corel, an old mining town. Just goof around there, work on your chapters and if anything pops up write about it. Otherwise, just wait for the ID to show up. I'll make reservations for you at their hotel."

"Okay," Verna nodded and walked out of the alley way. "How do I get there? And don't say you have a tourist bus!"

The boss laughed, "There's a train that runs from Costa del Sol and Corel. When you get Corel you'll just take the gondola there."

-A/N—

I'm getting bored with these chapters! Come on chapter 12! _ I think I'll add a bit of her past in and Rufus will start being in these more, I swear! Just in time. *grinds teeth* Rocket Town cannot get here fast enough…*going insane*


	9. Chapter 9

A man shifted through some papers. His eyes scanned each one with scrutiny. He glanced over the nameplate on a cubicle that read Verna Alm. He was at the right place. Narrowing his eyes, he continued his search for anything that could give him a lead.

Suddenly, he heard a phone ringing in what would appear to be the boss's office. The man placed down the paper he was looking at and casually walked to the abandoned office. He calmly answered the phone and answered with a simple "Hello."

"Yes, um…Who am I speaking to?" The man narrowed her eyes. It was a female, no doubting it.

Without hesitating the man replied, "My name is Tseng. Am I safe in assuming that this is Verna Alm? Or should I say Elizabeth Lane?"

The line went dead. A small smirk formed on Tseng's face. It was her. He looked at the phone number that came through. Finding her contact information was easier than he thought it was going to be. Now all he had to do was contact the new president.

Tseng slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Rufus's number, "I've found her number, sir."

"I see," Rufus sounded pleased and more laid back, Tseng assumed he was alone. "We'll wait to call her. I have a feeling she'll come to us. Besides, why should we expend our men to find her when we have more important matters to take care of?"

"Yes, sir," Tseng nodded.

Rufus smirked and he hung up his phone. His hand stroked the top of Dark Nation's head. Things were going well when it came to the newspaper. Even if the business moved buildings, he could just find that one girl he could make her talk. After all, people are more likely to spill everything they're hiding if they have fear instilled in them.

Yes, ruling Shin-Ra Inc. would be easier with fear than it would be with money. People are selfish creatures and always want more making them hard to please, much like his father. Rufus scowled at the thought of his father. After he died, Rufus was responsible to cleaning up his mess. If he wasn't the vice president before, he couldn't even imagine the state Shin-Ra Electric Power Company would be in. The Turks would have been killed, and no doubt there would be more fatalities.

Rufus stopped stroking Dark Nation's head for a moment. If he didn't order his father to be killed, then there more people in Midgar would have been senselessly killed just to see what was fit for the company.

"Now it's time to show the people they can place their trust in Shin-Ra," Rufus spoke mostly to himself. "We won't be some money hungry organization. Instead, we'll help the people." He laughed to himself, "I really haven't learned anything, have I?"

_ His mind flashed back to when he was but a mere child. The young boy stilled viewed the world with innocent eyes. He thought that Shin-Ra helped people by giving them more comfortable lives. He wasn't sure why Shin-Ra had enemies. No, he thought that they were monsters. Palmer even said that some of these monsters could come from space. That's why he told his father he should have an escape plan, in case these monsters came from space._

_"Escape?" His father looked at him with narrowed eyes. "No, I will not escape. If I were to escape I would be a loser. L stands for loser, Rufus."_

_ Rufus pouted slightly, "But if you have something to live for and you have to escape for the better of it then you aren't a loser! You live so you win!"_

_ His father smiled ever so slightly, "Tell you what, I'll have an escape plan, but I won't use it. It'll be for you to use when you become president of this company. That is, if you become president."_

Rufus shook his head. If his father had an escape plan he should have used it when Sephiroth attacked. It was foolish that he didn't. Still, Rufus knew that no matter what his father would have died. If Sephiroth didn't succeed in the task then he would have had a Turk kill his father. After all, it's the Turk's way to finish a task no matter what.

A phone rang. Tseng glanced down at it and questioned if it were the president calling him back. Had something happened after the few minutes that he spoke to him? Quickly, Tseng answered his phone.

"Tseng speaking."

"Tseng!" It was a female's voice. He narrowed his eyes at the person speaking, he had very little liking for the woman. "It's Scarlet from the Weapons Development program. Heidegger just informed me that some of your men will be going to Gongaga to try and find AVALANCHE. I have a little favor I want to ask of you!"

"What is it?" His voice was void of any emotions.

"Hmph, so cold," Scarlet complained. "Anyways, I'm going through different Mako reactors to search for a very special material and I need a Turk, such as you, to escort me. There's a broken Mako reactor near Gongaga, so I figured now would be a good time to go."

Tseng glared at seemingly nothing. The real reason Scarlet wanted to go there was because she had very little trust over Heidegger, his boss. He sighed. At least he'd get to supervise Reno, Rude and Elena when they were going after AVALANCHE. Reeve must have been keeping regular updates on their location.

"You still there?"

"Yes, I'll go."

"Have a helicopter come and pick me up. I'm at Costa del Sol right now."

The doors creaked open. Dust blew around at the sudden breeze. The mansion hasn't changed in the slightest. Silver hair flowed behind a figure in a cloak. The hood was down; there was no need to hide who he was. The people here were mindless puppets. His remnants would inform him should there be a disturbance.

On the second floor, a secret door opened leading to the basement. Boots walked calmly down the rotting wood. He kept his awareness high. The stares weren't secure and could very well give way underneath his weight.

His glowing eyes narrowed in slight amusement as he came to the room he locked himself in for days. It was here when he came upon the realization of the horrible experiments that were performed on him. This was the location upon he knew he had to help his mother, Jenova.

Still, there was something he was missing. Something he needed. After his body finally reconstructed after being trapped in the life stream for so long, he needed to find it. It was somewhere in the many notes found in the basement. Someone with the last name of Valentine wrote about Gaia meeting its end should something strike the planet. If he found whatever could cause this destruction his mother would be pleased with him.

Sephiroth picked up a piece of paper, it was the last one he read before he destroyed Nibelheim, and it was the most important. His eyes scanned it and the ends of his lips turned up into a smirk.

"First, I'll have to mislead Shin-Ra and that group of eco-terrorists," He placed the paper back down. "And then I'll get the Black Materia for you, Mother."

-A/N—

Thanks to Ashj for the lovely review! I'm planning on making my chapters longer once things start to pick up…Which is after Chapter 12…I might make that chapter 11, though. Unless I have a filler of Verna's past. I must also say that I completely agree that Rufus doesn't get enough attention. ;_; He's one of the best and most complex characters of the game!

If you're wondering why it's suggesting Rufus had his father killed, it's simply because there are suspicions that he ordered Sephiroth to kill his father. And the thing from his childhood is actually based on the events in On the Way to a Smile. It's pretty important…So I thought I'd hint with it right now… _ Yeah…like…Extremely important. Life or death important! Not really a spoiler, since if in the very least played the game and watched the movie you'd know. Another thing I want to bring up is that this fan-fiction will go to at least the end of Advent Children. I might venture into Dirge of Cerberus, even if Rufus is mostly doing things in the background and it doesn't flat out say he's there…Maybe I'll go into Genesis after that game…Uh…Must plan more!


	10. Chapter 10

After a day or two of staying at the Golden Saucer, Verna received her fake ID, meaning she could leave the money eater place. However, she couldn't say it was a complete waste of time. She finished one chapter –based on the attack of the ship- and she did some investigation for a potential story. Apparently a man with a gun on his hand murdered some people. Her initial thoughts were that it was Barrett, but after some more investigation it was someone else. Meaning she had no leads on AVALANCHE, Shin-Ra, or Sephiroth.

Sighing as she walked in the grassy fields, Verna searched for a forest that was supposed to lead to a small place called Gongaga. There was an abandoned Mako reactor, and if Sephiroth kept on his path then he'd end up somewhere around here. Besides, Nibelheim was on the same continent. She could do a story on the town and what little remains of it.

Verna glanced up as she heard some voices. She narrowed her eyes and approached cautiously. She managed to see a glimpse of red as she hid behind a bush.

"Come on, Rude," It was a male's voice. "Who do you like?"

There was a silent pause until the red head nudged Rude to talk, "Tifa…"

"Oh, the girl in AVALANCHE?" The man laughed. "I though Tseng liked her."

"No, he likes the Ancient."

"But Elena likes Tseng, right?"

"Those two are so annoying!" A blonde female nearly appeared out of nowhere next to Verna, but she was well concealed by the bush. "All they talk about is who they like, but Tseng doesn't. He's too mature for things like that!"

Her eyes trailed over to a path far a bit away and she jumped from fright. The girl ran over to the red-head and Rude, "They're here! They're really here! Reno, Rude! Do something!"

Reno and Rude glanced over to a trio approaching .Verna shifted to get a better view. It was Cloud, Tifa and Barrett. Verna had to grin to herself. It appeared she was at the right spot for this. However, her grin disappeared as Reno hit a weapon in his hand as he approached the three.

"Well, well, well," Reno spoke arrogantly. "It looks like he was right! You are here! You know, I've been itching to give you some payback after what happened at Sector 7. It took a long time for my wounds to actually heal. Luckily for me I have a new weapon that I developed!"

"We're not here to fight," Cloud glared at the Turk. "Just get out of our way."

"Sorry, it's the Turk's way to finish a mission no matter what."

Reno ran towards Cloud with his dual rod, but ran past him as Cloud dodged with ease. Rude held up his fists and went for Barrett. Tifa moved in his way and threw a punch at him. Rude hesitated and his face met her fist. It seemed like he'd have to fight Tifa, much to his disliking.

Barrett went after Elena who started shooting her gun at them. Barrett managed to be grazed by a couple of bullets. Had he not moved out of the way he would have been killed. She was a good shot, that's for sure. Still, he had to fight back. Barrett shot a few bullets towards Elena. Elena grimaced as she dodged quickly. However, she took a bullet to her knee. Gasping in pain she clutched her leg. She was done for.

Tifa kept throwing punches at Rude. All he seemed to do was dodge her attacks, he didn't even fight back! Tifa grew annoyed as she round kicked him in the gut. Rude went flying back and hit the ground. His sunglasses fell off in the process. There was no way he was going to be able to fight her. Even if he did, he'd just end up missing.

Cloud raised his sword as Reno tried to strike him with his dual rod. Reno smirked and clicked a button on it. Electric currents went through Reno's weapon and onto the sword. Cloud growled as he dropped his sword from the sudden shock. He had no weapon, but he did have some Materia. He raised his fists up as his arm glowed. Flames shot out and hit Reno. He went flying back. The Turk rolled on the ground extinguishing his flames.

The three Turks were on the ground. Reno sat up and rubbed some dirt off his face, "Just because we're retreating doesn't mean that we've lost!"

Tifa, Barrett and somewhat Cloud grinned at their victory over Shin-Ra's men. However, they quickly turned their weapons at a bush as a twig snapped. A girl stumbled out and they quickly relaxed, it was someone that they knew.

"Uh…Hi," Verna said awkwardly as she raised her hands to show she wasn't a threat. "Nice work there."

"You could have helped," Cloud glared over at her.

"I can't really fight," Verna laughed nervously. "I just got a gun and I'm not even sure how to use it." She sighed and shook her head. "I'd do more damage than good."

"What are you doing here, Verna?" Tifa questioned. She was slightly suspicious that Shin-Ra seemed to be waiting for them. There must have been a spy.

"I'm still looking for Sephiroth and running away from Shin-Ra, I can't be caught by them. Though, it seems like I'm just running into them. Besides, I thought I'd write a story on Nibelheim. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Sephiroth," Cloud began to walk away. "I don't think there's a spy among us, so that leaves you Verna." The self-claimed ex-soldier glared over at her, "Stay away from us."

Verna paused. Things were getting dangerous with her following them. They have lost trust in her. She wasn't even sure what trust she had to begin with. Nodding, she walked away from them and to a random path. She wasn't sure where she was going until she stopped. A broken Mako reactor was in front of her.

She heard a helicopter flying nearby. Her eyes widened as she noticed the Shin-Ra logo on it. Verna ran to hide behind some rocks. For extra precautions, she took out her gun and held it closely to her chest. She didn't want to have to shoot them, but she would if they threatened her in any way.

She heard footsteps grow close to her and then they stopped as a woman spoke, "Let's see…" There was some moving of metal, "Nothing. Well that's what you get from a lousy reactor! Lousy Materia! Still, I have to make sure I beat Heidegger in this! I could get a promotion and be a rank higher than him!" The woman laughed, but then stopped. "I forgot that he was your boss, Tseng! You'll keep this between you and me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good, now let's go! We have some more Materia to look for! I want the biggest Materia I can get my hands on!"

The foot stops faded away and the helicopter left. Verna came out of her hiding spot and looked at the Mako reactor. There was a red Materia in it. She tilted her head and picked it up. Upon examining it she smiled, she'd go ahead and keep it. The girl placed the Materia on her arm and it merged with her body. Sighing, she knew she did it correctly.

-A/N—

And what Materia did she get? Any guesses? If you guess it correctly by March 17th, 2013, I'll let you have a small part in the story~! It really shouldn't be that hard. First guess that's correct will be in the story, even if it's a minor role…Anyways, if you battle with Tifa against the battle with Rude and Reno, Rude will not attack Tifa at all! If Tifa is the last member there, Rude will attack her, but he'll miss most of the time…I thought I'd throw that in…Since it's kind of funny…I also added Elena in the fight, 'cause three against two just isn't fair~!

DID YOU GET THE JOKE ABOUT A BULLET TO THE KNEE!? X3


	11. Chapter 11

The truck bounced endlessly on the rocky terrain. The mountains took a while to get through. The scenery was bland and dull. Something she wasn't pleased with. Closing her eyes, Verna only meant to keep them shut for a second, but she drifted off.

_Her eyes looked at the television with amazement when Sephiroth appeared. At the time she was 15. Instead of goggling over different actors or rock stars, she had a celebrity crush on the first class SOLDIER, something that faded over time. Whenever a news story came on with the Wutai war she was sure to watch it. He was her hero. He defied everything impossible and made it possible. She wanted to be like him, but in her own way. After all, she couldn't join SOLDIER._

_ Her head peaked up as she heard someone walk into her house. Standing up she walked over and peaked her head through her doorway and noticed it was her mother and father. They seemed distressed. Narrowing her eyes she tilted her head. What were they doing?_

_ "Mom, dad, is everything alright?" Her parents jumped at the sound of her voice._

_ Looking over they nodded slowly. Her father then spoke, "I have to leave for a while, Verna. You and your mother will go to live your uncle. Hurry up and pack."_

_ "Why? What's going on?" Verna stepped out of her room, she was getting scared. "Where are you going?"_

_ "Just do as I say!" Her father yelled at her. Regretting his tone and took a deep breath, "Please, just hurry up and pack. We don't have that much time."_

_ "Alright," Verna nodded her head and ran into her bedroom. She took out her duffle bag from her closet and began to throw in some clothes. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Would they even tell her later?_

_Verna was now 18 years of age. She hasn't seen her father in a long time. Every now and then she'd get a letter from him, but after that night she hasn't seen his face. Still, not once was she allowed to reply to his letters. She felt lonely. And now, she was lonelier now._

_ "Are you alright, Verna?" It was her uncle, he looked worried._

_ "I just miss my dad…and my mom," Verna hugged her knees to her chest. "Why did she have to get sick?"_

_ Her uncle sighed sadly and sat on her bed, "Things like that happen. There's nothing we can do about it. One day I'll leave this body and join the life stream as will you. There's no telling when. We can only hope that we live our lives to the fullest when the time comes."_

_ "Uncle…" Verna looked up at the plump man._

_ "What is it, Verna?"_

_ "I want you to hire me to work for your newspaper."_

Verna opened her eyes from the dream that managed to take hold of her. Sighing, she shook the fuzziness from her head and looked out the truck's window. The terrain was starting to get green. They must be close to the next city. Glancing over at the driver, he seemed to just be focused on the road, and nothing more.

It was around the time Verna left the ruined Mako Reactor and started to head towards Nibelheim when she ended up hitchhiking. A man ended up stopping. He looked somewhat edgy, but Verna had no other choice. She was nearing a canon and there was no way she'd be able to get through it by herself.

It turns out that this man was a doctor from Kalm. He would treat almost the entire town. However, he just left the city in search of something. The man had his secrets, though. He wouldn't even give out his name. Verna didn't mind. If he didn't want to give her his name then she wouldn't give him hers. Either of them must have been suspicious that the other worked for Shin-Ra.

Still, even if they didn't trust each other, they were heading towards the same place, Nibelheim. However, their minds were sent into frustration when they arrived at the town that was supposed to be destroyed, according to various rumors that is.

_"Wh-Why is it still here?" Verna got out of the truck and looked around. "It was supposed to be burnt down wasn't it?"_

_ The doctor glanced at her before taking a breath from his cigarette, "That's only rumors. It was never confirmed by Shin-Ra or anyone else. They didn't even confirm Sephiroth's death. They just slowly let him fade away from memory."_

_ Verna narrowed her eyes, "But I met people who were from this town and they said it was burnt down! I've done some research on it and all clues say it was burnt down!"_

_ "Well obviously you're wrong," The doctor scowled. "It's standing here right now ain't it?"_

_ Verna furrowed her eyebrows together. This didn't make sense, not in the slightest! Unless…Unless Shin-Ra didn't want to admit that Sephiroth attacked this town and went insane. They could have been trying to cover up any scientific experiments here. That's why they rebuilt it. The people here could be working for Shin-Ra as actors to act like they've lived their entire lives here. That had to be it!_

_ "Hurry up!" The doctor barked as he started the truck back up. "We'll go to the next town and I'll drop ya off there!"_

_ Verna got into the truck behind him and nodded slowly, "Exactly what is the next town?"_

_ "Rocket City."_

"You still with me?" Verna looked over at the doctor. The truck had stopped moving. "We're here."

Verna got out of the truck and grabbed her bag. The doctor waved to her before taking off. She waved after him before heading towards the inn of the city. Everywhere she looked, people had bored looks on their faces. Was this place really that uneventful? Should that be the case, then she would have to try and get out of there as soon as possible. She needed to find AVALANCHE, Sephiroth or even some weird thing that Shin-Ra was doing.

Verna stopped when she heard some yelling. Glancing over her shoulder, she gulped when she noticed a few infantry men and a man in a white suit. Further behind them was Cloud and a couple of others that were fighting a fatter man with a gun. Verna narrowed his eyes; the fatter man was starting to run away like a coward.

-A/N—

We already have our winner on for appearing in an upcoming chapter. Those on Wattpad may still answer which Materia did Verna pick up! Anyways, I hope you like this. I'm trying to fit in little things…And was I the only one completely confused with what happened with Nibelheim? I've played this game since I was freaking three years old, and I'm seventeen with no idea what is going on with it! _ Wikipedia didn't really help all that much either!

Oh~! And the doctor is important for later! Just so ya know…


	12. Chapter 12

Her eyes glanced for anything she could use to help AVALANCHE. They've helped her in the past and she needed to repay her debt. A small smirk formed on her face as she ran towards what would help her. She swung a door open and climbed into the driver's seat. The keys were in, much to her relief.

Verna shifted into gear and slammed her foot on the gas pedal. Her eyes shut tightly as she heard a thump hit against the semi. Upon opening her eyes, she saw the man that Cloud was fighting lying on the ground unconscious.

However, she hadn't the time to keep looking at the fatter man. The sound of a plane running filled her ears. She looked over seeing Cloud and the other two members jump on the moving vehicle. The plane took off.

Getting out of the truck, Verna watched the plane fly. Something suddenly went wrong. Gun shots went off. Smoke erupted from the plane as the tail was hit. It went crashing down. Her hands shot to her mouth as the plane disappeared over the horizon. She couldn't help but wonder if they were alright.

Verna began to run in the direction where the plane went down. Though, she stopped in her tracks as her cellphone began to ring. Glancing down at her pocket, Verna took her cellphone out. She titled her head as she examined the number. It wasn't a familiar one. Perhaps her uncle changed his number again.

"Hello?" Verna questioned. There was a silence. "Is this you uncle?"

"I would hardly call me your uncle," Verna froze at the chilly smooth voice.

Verna moved her cellphone away from her face. Her head turned to the side slowly as she met eye contact with cold blue eyes. His eyes held a sense of a frozen wall that was melting away with a fire full of rage.

Verna gulped and she began to run away, but was stopped with an infantryman stepped in front of her. Her head whipped to the side quickly as she looked for another escape. They were closing in on her. Verna pulled out a gun and pointed it at the men. They backed off ever so slightly, but not completely. It was obvious she never used it before.

"Perhaps you can kill one or maybe two of my men if you're lucky," Rufus spoke. "But you can't kill them all with that pathetic excuse of a weapon." He moved some of his blonde hair out of his face with a hand. "You can't escape."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Verna said just above a whisper. She was scared out of her mind. She cleared her throat as she spoke louder. "I have a summoning Materia with me. It's something that one of your managers failed to pick up at the broken reactor in Gongaga."

"Summoning Materia?" Rufus narrowed his eyes. "I'd like to see you try to use it. I doubt you have any idea of how to use it. If you did you would have used it already. Now stand down."

Sweat began to trickle down her face. Bending down, Verna placed the gun on the ground and raised her hands in the air showing that she surrendered. Fighting would be futile, and she knew it.

"Take her!" Rufus snapped at his men. His temper was starting to flare as his cool exterior crumbled.

"Where, sir?" One of the soldiers questioned the President.

Rufus sent a death glare over at the soldier. Storming over, Rufus not so gently took grasp of Verna's arm and drug her over to a helicopter that was waiting in Rocket Town. Everyone backed away as they sensed his mood. If he didn't have such a strong grasp of his emotions he most likely would kill anyone of them at the drop of a hat.

Verna remained quiet as she allowed herself to be drug away and forced into the helicopter. Her mind ran over various situations that she would be placed in. He most likely would question her on the newspaper, but she wouldn't talk. No, she couldn't betray her uncle like that. She wouldn't even let it slip that she worked for her uncle. They kept a professional relationship in the office to avoid any suspicions that they were related.

"Oh, have yourself a girlfriend, did you, boss?" It was the read headed Turk that Verna witnessed Cloud, Barrett and Tifa fight. Upon receiving a glare from Rufus, Reno started the helicopter, "We'll get a way to find Sephiroth, Sir."

"Just shut up and move, Reno," Rufus snapped.

Reno nodded his head and started flying through the air. For what his boss told him he didn't seem to be too mad with him. Were the two friends or something? Or did Rufus do something for him in the past?

Rufus crossed his arms. A physical behavior that makes a person less likely to be approached – this Verna made note of in her mind silently. Her eyes glanced the former vice president over. He wasn't exactly an eye sore, the complete opposite in fact. Verna looked away as she felt heat rise to her cheeks. She couldn't be thinking such things, especially if he was now considered the enemy.

While Verna averted her eyes from him, Rufus looked at the girl. He was trying to decide the best way to interrogate her. His initial thoughts were to torture her, but he knew that it was his anger speaking. Rufus took a deep breath as he attempted to calm himself down. He had to think things out more, if he made a wrong move he'd have to deal with the consequences. Besides, if she did manage to escape she could very well write things on Shin-Ra that would put the company in even worst light than it was already in. No, he would treat her very well for an enemy.

"So," Rufus spoke as his temper began to simmer from its original boil. "Tell me about your uncle."

"He's my mom's brother," Verna stated the obvious. She was trying to hold back a smirk when she noticed the ends of Rufus's lips turn into a scowl.

"Obviously," Rufus spoke in a calm voice. "Assuming that he would call you, you must be close to him. Am I right?"

"As close as one would be with their uncle."

Rufus unfolded his arms as he crossed one of his legs over the other, "Are you closer to him than your mother?"

"My mother died," Verna frowned. "He took care of me after she died."

"I see," Rufus paused. His mother was also deceased, "I'm sorry for your loss."

"It was a long time ago," Verna leaned her head against the metal of the helicopter. "I should be saying I'm sorry for your loss instead. Your father died much more recent than anyone I've known."

"It was for the best," Rufus gave a bored look. "He had it coming with how reckless he was. He never once considered any of the consequences. He thought himself to be unbreakable."

Verna looked over at Rufus from the corner of her eyes. Rufus seemed to think the same way about himself – as if he were unbreakable. Did he think otherwise? That would be interesting, especially for someone so cold. At least, that's what all of the rumors about him say. They say that he's never once bled or cried.

"And what do you think about yourself, Mister President?"

"I must consider the consequences that follow every word I make," He spoke simply as if it were a simple question. "Something I'm sure you could make use of. Hitting Palmer like you did will have to be dealt with. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes," Verna nodded. "In my case the good outweighed the bad."

"What do you mean?"

"How close have you gotten to finding Sephiroth?" Verna narrowed her eyes and straightened her back. She looked at him, examining his every move. "I think that AVALANCHE has been closer to getting to him than you have."

Rufus would have shifted from the bit of anxiety the girl managed to send him. Something like this was rather unusual for a person such as himself. However, he kept his posture and smirked slightly.

"We have gotten close on several occasions, probably closer than the terrorists."

"And where is he now?"

"I'm afraid I can't disclose such information."

"In other words you have no idea where he is. Your Turk, Reno, even suggested that you don't know where Sephiroth is."

"Ms. Alm," Rufus spoke sharply. "You have no business in this hunt for Sephiroth."

"In what way do I not have any business?" Verna raised an eyebrow. "If I recall correctly Sephiroth could very well put everyone's life in danger, including mine. Not only that, but he nearly strangled me while I was in Kalm. Therefore, I have a score to settle with him."

"Is he really the forgotten hero to you?" Rufus watched her. He was going to turn the tables on her and try to make her fall into a pit of dark emotions.

"He is a forgotten hero," Verna paused. "He's strayed from the hero he once was as if he's forgotten who he was." She crossed her arms and looked at Rufus. "Speaking of which, why does Nibleheim still stand?"

"I'm afraid I'm the one that needs to ask the questions," Rufus completely avoided the question. He was a sharp one.

"Then, go ahead. If you don't answer my questions, I won't answer yours."

Rufus sent a glare in her direction. He moved some hair out of his face, a habit that Verna noted Rufus of doing a lot. If his hair really bothered him that much, why doesn't he just get a haircut?

"You will tell me everything about the newspaper. We can't afford having you make this more difficult for us, Ms. Alm."

"Or can you?" Verna looked at him. "What if I wrote positive things about Shin-Ra? What if I gathered support for you? I still won't tell you anything about the paper or where it's currently located, but I could make things work in your favor."

Rufus's expression grew into one of interest. This girl was quick on her feet. She seemed rather intelligent, unlike some of his employees. She didn't even seem to be intimidated by him in the slightest. Rufus smirked ever so slightly at her proposal. Things were going to be interesting.

-A/N—

Why was I so excited about this chapter? Well…One…Verna hit Palmer with the semi-truck. Honestly, when that happened in the game I burst out laughing. Though, I had to wonder who on earth hit him! Was it Shera? Probably not, otherwise Shin-Ra would have arrested her. So…I had Verna be the one to hit him~! I was also kind of excited about Rufus calling her phone when he was right behind her. _

Oh! And was I the only one disappointed that Rufus didn't move a single strand of hair out of his face during Advent Children!? TT_TT


	13. Chapter 13

The chopper landed. Verna was immediately taken out of the helicopter and was led away by Reno. Rufus watched and followed them into the building. They were currently in Kalm, a building that his father bought while Rufus was just a child. Verna felt slightly uneasy. She was so close to Midgar that her uncle could easily find her. However, that would jeopardize the newspaper company.

Once inside Verna was somewhat surprised by what she saw. It was a rather small building. She was almost positive that it would be some tacky rich cliché. She did see a mansion on the way here that looked like it would be that, but it seemed it wasn't Rufus's. Whose was it then?

"Now," Rufus began. "You'll be living here until we can arrange some sort of deal. When we have a deal and you've gained my trust you'll still be accompanied by someone that works with Shin-Ra. Do these terms sound acceptable?"

"So I'm in a pleasant prison with many privileges?" Verna looked around. "Yeah, sounds acceptable." She grinned over at the President. "I know you're doing this so I don't write anything bad about your company, but thanks anyways."

Rufus raised an eyebrow. She knew his motive, but was still grateful. How naïve was this girl? If she kept that attitude in this life then she would be chewed up and then spit out. Rufus moved some hair out of his face from the thought, it was irritating. His father would scold him for being too nice for others.

"Would it be alright if I worked on the next chapter for the newspaper?" Verna questioned as she shifted her bag onto her other shoulder. "I need to have it out by tomorrow. It'll then be published in a week." Verna bit her lip, "Speaking of which, my article on Junon should be out…"

Rufus laughed lightly. Reno looked at his boss oddly. It was extremely rare for Rufus to display a positive emotion. Rufus cleared his throat from the sudden outburst. "It seems as if you've hurt two of my employees, higher ranking ones at that."

Verna gulped. Things could go badly from here if she didn't proceed with caution. Even though Rufus didn't seem to care too much, but those that she actually did hurt had some power within the company and it could land her in trouble. Word would most likely spread that she was caught, which means that they could try and get even with her.

Changing the subject Verna spoke, "So can I write it?"

"Let's discuss our terms first," Rufus sat down at a table, it'd make do as a desk. He motioned his head for Verna to sit. "Reno, you can leave."

"Right," Reno went to another room of the house.

"This newspaper has caused us multiple issues in the past," Rufus began. "You do realize this, don't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now what happens when a lion is being annoyed by a mere lamb?"

"The lion kills and eats the lamb," Verna replied with a bored look. "The lion benefits in multiple ways. The lamb is gone and the lion gets a meal." She then smirked, "But if the lion isn't careful the lamb could be rotten and give the lion a stomachache."

"A stomachache?"

"If you aren't careful, Mister President," Verna began. "People could get mad that you shut down our newspaper. People think of it as the only reliable source, as your company doesn't own it. Not only that, but people seem to like my series. If you were to shut it down I simply can't imagine what kind of stomachache you would get."

Rufus narrowed his eyes. This wasn't the first time she's negotiated with someone. She knew how to get what she wanted, but so did Rufus. This was going to be most interesting in deed.

"Still, we could always shut it down and deal with the consequences. I believe that shutting down your newspaper would have a better outcome than letting it last."

"Or you could benefit in an even better way. You could get a bigger meal by using the lamb," Verna crossed her arms and leaned back. "I could use my articles in portraying Shin-Ra as the good guy in all of this. I could have a trap set up for Sephiroth, meaning that you could capture him. Of course, I'll still have to bash you guys every once in a while, just so no one gets suspicious that I'm working with you."

"And what sort of trap are you thinking of?"

"You lost Sephiroth, didn't you?" Verna tilted her head. "We could lead him somewhere. Surely even he pays attention to the newspaper, especially if people start claiming that your company is close to capturing him. We'll just have to make sure that the newspaper is widely distributed and that we get as many people to read it as possible."

"I'll take that into consideration," Rufus stood up and walked over to the window with his back to her.

"That's very dangerous." Verna spoke just loud enough for Rufus to hear.

Rufus looked over at her, "What is?"

"Leaving your back open to someone you just met. You didn't search me for any weapons. For all you know I could have a sword, like Sephiroth's on me, and I could just stab you in the back," Verna gave a sad smile. "Luckily, I have no goal to assassinate you."

Rufus looked back out the window, "I already knew you didn't."

Verna clapped her hands together just once, "So you already have some trust in me. Looks like I won't be a chained down for that much longer."

Rufus narrowed his eyes, "I wouldn't say I trust you in the slightest bit."

"Then why am I not handcuffed? Why are you allowing me to stay here? You didn't even search through my bag."

"Do you want me to chain you up?" Rufus walked back towards the desk.

"No, I'm perfectly fine right here," Verna smiled nervously.

Reno suddenly walked in the door, "Sir, Tseng called. He says that AVALANCHE has been spotted at the Golden Saucer. It seems like they're just on vacation. Reeve said that they don't know where Sephiroth is. They might go ahead and go to Wutai next."

Rufus nodded his head, "Then go to Wutai. Take Rude and Elena with you."

"Alright, vacation!" Reno cheered as he ignored Rufus's glare.

"It's not a vacation, Reno," Rufus warned. "If AVALANCHE appears to have any plans to get Sephiroth I want you to simply follow them. Do not interfere with them."

"Don't we want to catch them, though?"

Rufus shook his head and moved a strand of hair out of his face, "Sephiroth is more important at this point. If they try to interfere with us any more we will take them out, but otherwise let them be. Now leave."

Reno grumbled to himself as he left the building. Rufus then glanced over at Verna. She was staring at the ceiling, seemingly in a different place. His eyes narrowed as he evaluated her. Exactly what kind of a girl was she? At times she seemed to be somewhat gullible, or too forgiving, but at other times she seemed cold and manipulative. Could it be that her public-self deviated away from her actual self?

Rufus glanced over as the door that opened slowly. He glared at the intruder for a slight moment before he noticed it was Reno with Dark Nation at his side. Reno left and Rufus's look turned softer as the panther walked in. The panther examined the area and then looked at Verna. The creature gave off a low growl towards her as he moved in front of his master, an action that he typically did. The panther casted both Barrier and MBarrier on Rufus to protect him.

Verna blinked at the panther. Her looks was that of shock. However, this expression slowly melted into pure joy. The girl stood up quickly as she cautiously walked over to the panther. Dark Nation growled louder at the girl's actions.

"I won't hurt you," Verna spoke softly as she stopped about four feet from the animal. She sat down on the floor to make herself appear smaller. She then reached a hand out towards the panther to show she meant no harm.

Rufus watched everything with mere amusement. Most people would run away from his loyal pet. This girl was afraid of very little. Very few people that he knew weren't afraid of things like she was. It could have been due to the fact that he makes people afraid of him, but this was different.

Dark Nation cautiously sniffed Verna's hand. He took a few steps closer to the girl and stood there staring her in the eye. Verna avoided eye contact with the animal; she had no desire to challenge it. Dark Nation, noting this, sat down in front of her. Verna grinned and gently stroked the animal's head.

"What's his name?" Verna spoke softly as she didn't want to alarm the panther.

Rufus, seeing the barriers fade away, sat down in the chair before speaking, "Dark Nation."

Dark Nation looked over at Rufus. Seeing that his master was calm, Dark Nation laid on the ground and enjoyed the attention he received from Verna. Verna grinned at the animal before closing her eyes in a content manor.

"It's a good thing you have him," Verna whispered mostly to herself. Rufus peeked his head up in some form of interest. "No matter what happens, you can always trust your pet and he'll always be there for you."

Rufus looked out the window contemplating what she said.

-A/N—

So I did some research on Dark Nation. It turns out that it's Rufus's pet panther. Freaking awesome…

Prom dress shopping tomorrow~! I'm going to look for a white dress with black buttons just for laughs. XD I'm too pale to wear white, so I have to go with black or a cool color.


	14. Chapter 14

Verna opened her eyes as the sun peered in from the window. Sitting up from her position she noticed something fall off her shoulders. Looking down, her cheeks became tainted with a light pink. It was Rufus's jacket. She must have fallen asleep at her laptop and he placed it on her. A small smile appeared on her face, he wasn't as cold as everyone said he was.

She picked up the jacket and folded it before placing it on the table. Her feet carried her to where she thought the kitchen was. If he did something nice for her, she'd try and do something nice for him. Verna opened the door and found the room Reno disappeared from the day before, her instincts were right. She opened the fridge and her eyes scanned the different items in there. She then walked over to the pantry and compared the things in there.

A grin spread onto her face as she grabbed flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, some eggs, vegetable oil, canned blue berries, and lemon juice. She quietly took out a bowl, Verna wasn't sure if Rufus was still sleeping, and began putting the correct ingredients together. She placed them in the oven and began to clean up the mess she managed to make and put the left over ingredients up. The girl bit her lip if she tried to decide if this was enough, after all she had no idea what kind of food Rufus liked.

Verna opened the fridge and got the eggs back out as well as some bacon. If they were in his fridge chances are he liked this food. She began making an omelet as well as allowing the bacon to simmer. She turned away from the stove as she noticed something walk into the room.

Verna smiled at who walked in and knelt down to the floor, "Good morning, Dark Nation!"

The panther looked at her and walked over allowing Verna to pet it. Verna laughed lightly as the panther gave a low purr. It was an entertaining creature, one that she's only seen in documentaries or books. If she were to tell her younger self that she got to pet one, she wouldn't believe it.

"Now what do you eat, Dark Nation?" Verna stood up and crossed her arms. "I'll have to ask your owner when he wakes up. Typically your kind eats meat, but I'm not sure if it'd be appropriate for me to give you some!"

"Do you always talk to animals?"

Verna looked up as Rufus entered the room, "Um…Yeah…" Verna looked away slightly embarrassed. "Why do you ask?"

"Some people say that it's a sign of insanity," Rufus stated with a smirk.

"Then those people are obviously never around animals," Verna huffed a strand of hair out of her face. "Where do you stand on that?"

"Those people would call me insane," Rufus walked into the kitchen and examined what she was making. "I talk to Dark Nation all the time. What are you making?"

"Blue berry muffins, omelets, and bacon," Verna shifted uncomfortably, "I wasn't sure what you like, sorry."

Rufus glanced at her and moved some hair out of his face, "Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't know," Verna shrugged. "I just don't want to make people mad or offend them in any way."

A timer went off causing Verna to search frantically for oven mitts. She kept looking until she heard Rufus opening the oven and pulling the muffins out with an oven mitt on his head. Verna sighed and leaned against the counter as he placed them on some heat protectors. She should have just asked him where they were.

"I hope they'll be fine," Verna stated quietly.

"I'm sure they will be," Rufus took the oven mitt off and placed it back wherever it was he found it. "Do you expect me to only eat the highest quality of foods?"

"I don't know," Verna shrugged. "I've expected a lot of things, but so far I've been proven wrong."

"What do you mean?" Rufus watched her; a glint of interest flashed crossed his face.

"I expected you to live in an overly huge mansion, with red furniture and maybe some animal's head mounted on the wall or a fur rug. You know, because that kind of stuff represents how someone is further up on the food change and is basically egotistical." Verna stopped her ramble as she got back on topic, "And I expected you to be colder."

"You don't think I'm cold?"

Verna shook her head, "I haven't really seen anything that makes you cold. You're really not as scary as everyone makes you out to be. It's obvious that Dark Nation likes you, so you can't be all that bad. Speaking of which, what does he eat?"

Rufus took out a couple of plates and began dishing some food for himself before speaking, "Meat. I, or one of the Turks, will usually purchase some steak for him to eat raw. There's some in the fridge."

"Can I feed him?" Verna looked at him and crossed her fingers, hoping that she'd be able.

"Be careful if you do," Rufus took a seat at the small table in the kitchen. "He could very well bite or claw you."

Verna nodded and took some meat out of the door, "It's okay if he does."

Dark Nation looked at the meat as he began to salivate. The panther stalked forward. Verna knelt down on the floor and held out the meet for the feline. The panther moved its large paw forward and quickly slashed at the meat. Verna flinched as the claws ripped through part of her skin, making her drop the meat onto the ground. Dark Nation grabbed it with its mouth and ran out of the room. Biting her lip Verna clenched her wrist as blood started to trickle down it. She stood up and tried to hide the wound as she pretended to simply was her hands as she examined the wound.

"How bad is it?" Verna heard Rufus's chair screech against the floor as he walked over to her.

"Not that bad," Verna hit her wrist behind her.

Rufus glared as he noticed some blood drip to the floor. He grabbed her wrist quickly and examined it. It could use stiches, but it didn't absolutely need stiches. Frowning, Rufus left the room, but not before telling Verna to stay where she was. Returning only moments later, Rufus placed a first-aid kit onto the kitchen counter and took out some bandages.

"I can do that myself," Verna spoke quietly.

Rufus raised an eyebrow, "From what I've seen you appear to be left handed and your left wrist was damaged. You would do a clumsy job at best by trying to bandage your arm."

Verna knitted her eyebrows together, "I can still do it."

"Stop complaining," Rufus stated coldly as he sprayed some cleaner on her wrist. Verna bit her lip to hold in a gasp of pain. Rufus then bandaged her wrist quickly. "There."

"Thanks," Verna nodded her head towards him.

"Now," Rufus moved closer to her and bent down to where he was whispering in her ear. "I expect some payback for bandaging that. Tell me about your newspaper."

Verna's heart pounded as she felt a lump build up in her throat. Roughly, she shoved Rufus away. Her feet stumbled backwards until her back hit the counter. Her hands shook slightly as she watched him with fear. Rufus watched her expression and hid a small smirk when he moved his hair out of his face. That was the reaction he was expecting from her. He knew how to make her fear him.

-A/N—

Sorry I didn't post a chapter yesterday…I was out buying my Sephiroth prom dress! XD That's seriously what I'm calling it...It's black and silver…Every single time I look at it my mind screams Sephiroth. Every single freaking time…Tell ya what! If I get 3 more reviews (from 3 different people) I'll take a picture of me wearing it…Photoshop the living crap out of myself to make it look like a female Sephiroth. *nods*

The real reason FFVII fan-girls want a remake: To see Cloud wearing a dress in high definition.


	15. Chapter 15

"So you become fearful when someone comes into close contact with you," Rufus stepped forward.

Verna turned her back to him and gripped onto the counter tightly with her hands, "Stay away from me!" She closed her eyes tightly to try and stop herself from crying. "Just stay away!"

Rufus raised an eyebrow, "I just want you to answer my question. If you do, I'll give you all the space you need."

Verna opened her eyelids half way and she stared down at her bandaged hand, "What question is it?"

"Who runs the newspaper?"

Verna shook her head as her mind raced, "I can't betray her."

"So it's a female that runs the paper?" Rufus quirked an eyebrow, that certainly narrowed things down.

"O-Or him!" Verna squeaked.

Rufus narrowed his eyes, "You already said her…" He stepped closer to her. As he did so, he noticed her entire body tense up. "Now tell me who it is."

Verna's eyes filled with tears, her body tried to contract within itself to get away from him. She looked for an escape, but she was cornered. She could feel herself slowly slip into a panic attack. If she didn't tell him she most definitely would have one.

"What's her name?" Rufus placed one hand next to her to show how close he actually was to her.

Verna felt a tear drop roll down her cheek, "P-Patricia." She coughed trying to get rid of the lump in her throat, "Patricia Lynn."

Rufus removed his hand and stepped back from her. A satisfied smirk rested on his face. He got what he wanted just by using a little bit of fear. Things always worked out in his favor when he did something like that. He still couldn't wonder why she had such a fear, though.

"Thank you, Verna," He spoke before moving some hair out of his face. "I'll make sure that she is arrested."

Verna remained quiet as she wiped her tears from her face. She kept her back to him. He couldn't see the small smile on her face. He fell for her lie. The fear was all too real, but the name was not. It was her uncle that ran the company, not Patricia. No, but she would feel satisfied having her arrested. After all, the two did know each other.

"I hope you do realize that I did need that name and I don't have time for something like that," Rufus spoke to her.

"You didn't have to be so cruel," Verna snapped. "Those rumors about you being so cold really were true, weren't they?" She turned around, hatred burned through her eyes. "Just because you're the president of some fancy company does not give you the right to do that. You can't just use a person's fear against them! You have no idea what kind of emotional damage they might have!"

Verna walked up to him and stopped until she was about two feet from him. She looked up at his cold blue eyes. She took a deep breath. Her hand stung in an instant. Rufus's face was to the side with a red hand print starting to develop on his cheek.

"You're a sick bastard," Verna whispered before storming out of the room quickly before Dark Nation could arrive.

Tears ran down her face as she found a bedroom in the building. She slammed the door shut and locked it behind her. If she left, Verna was positive that they'd find her, but they wouldn't grant her as much freedom as she originally had. Verna slid down the door and buried her face in her knees as she sobbed quietly.

Her mind was racking with mixed emotions. She was still terrified of him having been in such close proximity. Still, she regretted slapping him across the face. Now, she was also scared of the consequences that would follow her slapping him. Would he hold a grudge? Most likely. He probably would turn her over to Heidegger and Palmer.

Verna stopped crying as a small smile appeared on her face. She sure did have some nerve. Not only did she hurt two of Shin-Ra's top managers, but not she slapped the most powerful man on the planet. She looked up at the ceiling; Shin-Ra was most definitely her enemy. AVALANCHE didn't seem to trust her either. They thought she was a spy. She couldn't run to them. She doubted Sephiroth would take her in. After all, he did try to kill her. The only place she could go was her uncle's, but that would put him in danger. A laugh escaped from her lips, she was royally screwed.

Verna stood up from her spot and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. Sniffing once, she looked around the room she was in. Her eyes trailed to a picture frame that was on a wardrobe. Shuffling over, Verna picked it up. She frowned. A young woman was holding a young boy in it. The boy looked like a child version of Rufus. It must be his mother.

Verna sat on the bed as she examined the picture. Why would he have this? She bit her lip, did his mother pass away? A frown made her way onto her face. Not having a mother was hard. Even if they were adults, it was too young.

Her head poked up as she heard the door unlock and it open. Verna held the picture frame close to her body as she noticed Rufus walk into the room. She watched him carefully as he walked in. His eyes watched her and moved down to her arms.

"What are you holding?" He asked simply.

Verna looked down at her arms and showed him the picture frame. Rufus took it quickly and placed it back where it originally was. Verna flinched at his manor and stood up to move away from him. His voice stopped her.

"Why are you so afraid of people being close to you?"

Verna opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when nothing came out. Closing her eyes, Verna turned her back to him and shrugged off her jacket. She hesitated before lifting her shirt over her head, leaving her in her bra. A slight blush covered her face as she moved her hair to reveal her back.

Rufus narrowed his eyes as he examined her. There was a scar on her back, most likely from a stab wound. The possibilities of where she earned it were limitless, but it definitely something that caused some emotional damage. A small part of him regretted his previous actions, but he didn't show it.

"I was stabbed in the back," Verna spoke before putting her clothes back on. "Both figuratively and literally. The first guy I actually had feelings for me was after my father. He manipulated me to try and get information out about my father, but I didn't know anything. When I thought we were close I let my guard down. We were hugging goodbye after hanging out and then he stabbed me in the back when he knew I wouldn't be of any use to him…He ran away and hasn't been caught. He left me for dead. If my uncle wasn't home that night I would have died."

Verna stood up and turned so she was now facing Rufus. She examined his face for a couple of moments, "I now ask you not to use my fears against me any further. I'd rather be locked up in a cell than that happen."

Rufus nodded his head slowly. His mind racked with questions about just who her father was and who the boy tried to kill her was. He would most definitely do some investigation on that. With Shin-Ra's data base it wouldn't be difficult to find out. Everyone, within that past forty years of living, was in their data base. Yes, he would find the monster who stabbed her.

His eyes blinked and he knitted his eyebrows in confusion. It was particularly odd for him to get an emotional response such as that from a mere story. Yet, a part of him felt wrath towards the man that stabbed her. He wasn't angry with Sephiroth for stabbing his father in the back. No, he was the one who met secretly with the ex-SOLDIER to give the order. Why was this different?

-A/N—

Two more reviews for a photograph of a female formal Sephiroth~! (must be from two different people~! They can be from Wattpad, , mibba or quizilla…Yes…I actually am deciding to post this on quizilla and mibba…*sighs*)


	16. Chapter 16

Night has fallen and only one light was on in the building. Verna was awake while the rest were asleep. She looked worriedly down the hall. She heard some shouting coming from Rufus's bedroom – it turned out that's where she was earlier that day. Her feet softly trudged on the wooden floor as she slowly opened the door leading to his room.

Rufus was sleeping in his bed. His face was contorted in an expression of pain. Verna knitted her eyebrows together as she stepped in. He must be having a bad dream. She held her hands against her chest as she determined if she should wake him up or not.

He heard gun shots go off. It was his shotgun that he wielded with one arm. He practiced shooting against the target. After hitting the target in various fatal zones he lowered the gun. Rufus turned around and stopped as a sudden migraine erupted through his mind.

He fell to his knees and clutched his head at the sudden pain. Rufus looked up seeing his mother standing over him. How did she get so tall? He looked down at his hands, when were they so small? He was a child again.

"Rufus, dear, did you have a nightmare?" his mother sounded. "Don't fret precious I'm here. Step away from the window. Go…" Her voice shifted multiple times as if it were playing from a scratched CD. "Go back to sleep."

Rufus followed his mother down the hallway. He was unsure what was going on. It was as if his memory was distorted. He looked at the different paintings depicting the different events in his life. His eyes narrowed, he was safe from the pain and truth and choices and other poisons that were in life. No, none of it existed when he was a child. He looked back up at his mother. No one cared about him like she did.

Closing his eyes, Rufus took a deep breath. However they soon snapped open at the sound of running feet. A gunshot went off and a scream sounded. It came from his childish lips. Before him laid the corpse of his mother, as he held onto her hand. Blood was splattered over his clothing. It was the time he witnessed his mother's death. His innocent world shattered.

He felt tears weld up in his eyes. If his father saw him crying he would be furious with him. Rufus stood up suddenly and ran away from his mother's dead body. An annoying ringing ran through his head. He must have had some damage to his ear from the gunshot. Still, he annoyed that and ran. He ran as fast as he could through Midgar. He didn't slow down for a second.

His eyes dashed from person to person. A prostitute groaned in delight as a man picked her up. Other people were fighting. These streets were filthy and filled with the underbelly of Midgar's scum. Rufus closed his eyes and kept running. He didn't want to see any of it! None of it!

Rufus tripped and fell. An ow escaped from his lips and echoed off of the walls of an alley way he stumbled into. The boy lied on the ground, breathing heavily. His father would yell at him if he returned, but there was nothing Rufus could do. Sitting up, Rufus held onto his legs tightly as he sobbed uncontrollably into them. He just wanted to go back to sleep and wake up from this nightmare.

Looking up, Rufus was no longer a boy. He was a young man. It was only a couple of years before the present day. He glanced at his father who was staring at him coldly. Ah, it was when he came back after saving the Turks from their ultimate death. However, he couldn't betray the Turks. Not after one of them found him after his mother died and comforted him more than his father ever did.

His father shouted something about power and death. Rufus didn't care. If the Turks were killed it'd be like counting bodies like sheep, there would be an endless amount of fatalities. The Turks wouldn't give up without a fight, and that would cause the rhythms of the war drums to begin their beat. Innocent people would get caught up in an internal Shin-Ra war.

Rufus closed his eyes in aggravation as he moved some hair out of his face. Upon reopening them Sephiroth was standing in front of him.

"I want you to kill the president of Shin-Ra," Rufus spoke automatically. He had no control over his body in this hellish of a dream. "His plan in destroying Sector 7 is going too far. He's getting backed into a corner and he doesn't know how to handle things anymore. He's the terrorist in all of this."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, "Why do you want me to kill your father."

"You have no business in that," Rufus replied. "I've given the information that is only needed."

"In what way do I not have any business?" A voice sounded from Rufus. He turned around seeing the very girl that he was keeping an eye on. "If I recall correctly Sephiroth could very well put everyone's life in danger, including mine. Not only that, but he nearly strangled me while I was in Kalm. Therefore, I have a score to settle with him."

She turned her back to him, "That's dangerous." He mused using the same words she used for him when he had his back to her. Only now did he realize that she said that to him because -.

"I was stabbed in the back," She said softly. He envisioned the scar on her back. "Both figuratively and literally. The first guy I actually had feelings for me was after my father. He manipulated me to try and get information out about my father, but I didn't know anything."

Rufus wanted to reach out towards her, but he restrained himself. Even if it was a dream he wouldn't do such a thing. For now, he had to find out who her father was and who stabbed her in the back. He looked up ceiling, but looked down after she screamed.

His eyes widened, everything was crashing around him. Her body lied on the floor, dead. He looked around frantically. Everything was ending before his very eyes. The world was coming to an end. His eyes met those of Sephiroth's before everything faded to black.

"Sir!" A distant voice sounded. "President?" He tried opening his eyes, but they felt like lead. "Rufus!" He slowly opened his eyes. A female's shape slowly took focus. Her face was filled with worry. It was Verna. "I heard you shout, is everything okay?"

"Fine," Rufus sat up realizing she woke him up from the dream of his enemies and his choices. They were one in the same, but he tried to isolate them.

"I was worried I'd have to voice some reason into your sleeping self," Verna sighed.

Rufus looked at her. She did save him from himself. The dream was a horrible one. He only wished she woke him up sooner. Still, nothing could be done. He glanced over at the clock. It was early in the morning, 2AM.

"Why are you still awake?" Rufus questioned.

"I couldn't sleep," Verna replied simply. "I've been growing more and more anxious lately."

Rufus raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I don't have any of my medicine for my anxiety," Verna laughed lightly. "If I don't get any soon I'll start having some panic attacks."

Rufus narrowed his eyes. That was something he didn't know. Still, he could use her medical records to try and locate her father or whoever stabbed her. His mind flashed back to the end of his nightmare. No, for now he had to focus on Sephiroth. But, he would get her medications before he started his search again.

-A/N—

I wanted to write a chapter before March 21, 2013, since I'm going out of town that day. I'll be back on Sunday. Anyways, I haven't really been able to play FF7 lately, too much school work. So…I figured I'd put in this chapter with a small bit of Rufus's past. If you couldn't tell it was heavily influenced by A Perfect Circle's "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums."


	17. Chapter 17

Vern gazed past the window and to the forest beyond. She was leaning her face against the window. She's been trapped inside for a couple of weeks, and she was starting to get a little stir crazy. Everything was just begging her to go outside, but Rufus Shinra had her stuck inside so he could keep an eye on her.

He even read over her news stories to make sure she kept her word. It made her anxious whenever he would leer over her shoulder. Verna had to stop typing with how much stress it caused her. They finally came to the agreement that he would read over the final draft before she sent it off to her uncle – who Rufus still didn't know ran the newspaper.

The thought caused Verna to shift her positions. It was only going to be a matter of time before Rufus found out she lied about who was running the newspaper. She bit her lip. She didn't even want to think about what might happen. He would probably invade her personal space and perhaps hold a knife up to her back.

Verna's eye clenched shut. Her heart pounded and her breathing increased. She tried to gulp down her worries, but a large lump prevented her from doing so. She was on the verge of tears again. Curling up into a ball, Verna pulled on her hair tightly. This was the result of her anxiety attacks.

"Calm down," she whispered to herself. "This isn't going to help…" Despite her words she still stressed out. By now her whole body was shaking.

"Verna."  
Verna shook her head a bit to acknowledge the voice. She couldn't look up, though. She was too scared, too stressed. Her body tensed up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Automatically, Verna flinched away and pressed herself further against the window, but the hand remained there.

"Verna," the voice sounded softly, it wasn't a mad one. "We're leaving the house today. You're getting your medications and I figured getting out could help you."

Verna opened her eyes and she slowly uncurled her body. She looked up at the man dressed in white with a black undertone. It was a sight that she has grown to form an analogy for. The white on the outside was something that people deemed as good. It was Rufus's way of saying that people could trust him and that Shin-Ra was a company to respect and not hate. Though, the black on the inside showed Shin-Ra's past and how it has its secrets, which leads to people not trusting the company. But underneath the clothes is Rufus, a human being. A human being that will make its mistakes. But with it being Rufus, he will take responsibility for his actions.

Verna stood up and walked over to the man she has grown to respect over the past couple of weeks. Rufus nodded at her and walked out of the house with her close behind him. He smirked slightly seeing that she has grown somewhat reliant on him. He'd have to make use of that later on.

"I looked at your medical records," Rufus noted. "I see that you take remedies. Do they not know what's wrong with you?"

Verna bit her lip, "Invading my personal space via another method huh?" she huffed some hair out of her face. "It's anxiety, but the tranquilizers didn't really work. They tried mixing in some spider webs, but that didn't work either."

"Spider webs?" Rufus raised an eyebrow.

"If you use that it slows a person down. My brain works faster than most, so they thought that was a part of my anxiety. I just think it's because I'm super smart," She grinned goofily.

"Right," Rufus rolled his eyes at the behavior.

"So they're just using remedies for now, until they can find something else that works," Verna frowned.

"Is there something wrong with it?" Rufus questioned.

"You know how you hear about those people going insane and on a public shooting spree?"

"Of course," Rufus nodded. "How does that connect?"

"They're all on anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, or anti-anxiety medications."

Rufus raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying that it's connected."

"Well sure," Verna nodded her head. "It's shown that these medications may not work at first because they activate neurogenesis, or when new neurons are made. It's something that doesn't typically happen. But by taking these medications, the new brain cells may be what makes people go insane and commit violent actions. This being said, not everyone who takes these medications go berserk on people, it's just a common trait that these people share."

"Interesting," Rufus pursed his lips together. He wondered if the scientists at Shin-Ra knew that. They were probably the ones who manufactured such a side effect. Those pathetic Hojo loyal brainless zombies. "We're here."

Verna looked up seeing a pharmacy. The two walked in. Verna looked around seeing a multitude of materias, potions and other medical items. She looked over at a girl standing at the counter. She had brown hair and skin that was almost as pale at hers. Her name was Theo, according to the name tag.

"Can I help you?" She looked up. Her eyes widened slightly seeing the president of Shin-Ra in her pharmacy, but kept her shock under control.

"We're here to pick up a prescription for Verna Alm," Rufus spoke in a monotone voice.

"Right," Theo dug through the 'A' box and pulled out a prescription. "Your insurance covers it." Theo handed over the prescription to Rufus, who then passed it to Verna. "Have a good day!"

Rufus nodded to her and walked back out. Verna followed him as she read the side effects, something she had a strong interest in. It was a nice way to pass the time.

"Verna?" Verna stopped in her tracks as her heart nearly shot out of her chest. "Verna? Is that you?" She looked behind her slowly. A small drop of sweat made its way down her face.

"It is you, Verna!" A man smiled at her and hugged her.

Verna tensed up immensely. Rufus didn't fail to notice the terrified look on her face. The man patted her scar rather forcefully. Rufus lost it.

"Who are you?" Rufus stepped forth and removed the man off of Verna. He placed himself in between the two. His icy blue eyes glared daggers into the other man's.

"Just an old friend of Verna's," The man crossed his arms. "We used to date."

Rufus's eyes widened slightly. This was the man who stabbed Verna in the back. He placed a hand on his shotgun, but didn't allow the man to know what he was doing. If he attempted to murder Verna, he most likely would try to do it again.

"It seems like you really climbed up the ladder, Verna," The man smirked at the girl. "Listen, I'd like to hang out sometime. Want to meet up?"

"Not really," Verna glared at the man.

"Ah, come on!" The man maneuvered around Rufus and gave Verna another hug. He slipped a piece of paper in her hand. "Well, I've gotta bounce. See you later, babe."

Rufus nearly pulled out his shotgun, but stopped when Verna spoke, "Let's go."

"Who was that?" Rufus didn't walk when Verna started to.

"No one."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Not today."

"Tell me his name."

"It's not important. Let's just go," Verna made her way back to the location they were staying at. Her head was faced down to the ground. Rufus watched her as her hair flowed behind her. He felt his rage building up, but kept it under control. He'd figure out who that guy was.

How will this pan out? The very questioned racked through her head. The only thing that disturbed her thought process every now and then was the wind rattling against the building. Her eyes were kept wide open. Her hand shielding a single flame to keep a candle burning as she made her way through the place she has been living for the past couple of weeks. She glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand.

His mind lingered back to the scene that occurred earlier in the day. He was searching and wishing through his computer. The secret was so loud that it screamed to him. It was the man who stabbed her earlier, no doubt. Rufus nearly shot the man on spot.

His hand tightened to on the mouse when he remembered the scene. The man they encountered hugged Verna. Not only that but he placed a firm hand on where her stab wound was. Rufus didn't fail to notice Verna's reactions. The very look on her face was enough to make Rufus's blood boil with rage – something he wasn't sure exactly as to why.

Perhaps he was envious that another human being was able to strike fear into Verna. He shook his head, before he turn in envy he would turn to his emotionless wall he's managed to build. It was crumbling, and he knew it. But still, he would go to the wall that he learnt to build through sorrow.

His icy eyes turned to the sound of a door closing.

Verna trudged her way through the town. Her eyes were growing dark. Her fingers grasped the cold metal that she was keeping hidden in her jacket's sleeve. Her eyes dashed back and forth to make sure no one was watching her.

She licked her lips in anticipation. Her heart pounded. Verna was going to do this. She was going to kill him. The man that stabbed her in the back was going to be killed by her very hands. Atli was going to die.

"I thought you'd never show up," A man's voice sounded. Verna looked at him with extreme hatred. "Woah! I heard about death glares, but I've never seen one until now. Are you still holding a grudge against me for stabbing you? You know it was orders from a very prestigious company, you might have heard of them."

Verna's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

"He didn't tell you?" The stabber, Atli, crossed his arms. "You would think that if you were hanging out with him he would have told you that he ordered me to find everything out about your father and to get rid of you. You know, I heard that the he was cold, guess he really is."

"Rufus told you to kill me?" Verna hesitated.

He smirked slightly, "Such a shame, really. And now he's hiding it from you. You know, I think he's keeping you around to try and get everything out of you until he deems you unnecessary. When that happens," He paused for emphasis, "He'll stab you in the back." The man walked over to Verna and forcefully punched her scar with every word. "Just. Like. I. Did."

Verna gasped from the pain it caused and stumbled away from him. Her breathing started to turn ragged. She was having not an anxiety attack, but a panic attack. Tears build up in her eyes and they poured down her cheeks.

"Awe, did I make you cry?" He feigned regret. "Please, don't do that. Your vision will blur and you won't be able to see me kill you."

Verna started to calm down. If he was ordered to kill her by Rufus, then why was he going to kill her now? She quickly raised her gun up at the man.

He paused and raised his hands up, "What are you doing, Verna?"

"You wouldn't kill me now if you were ordered by Rufus," Verna hissed. "You were lying."

"I'm no longer working for Shin-Ra, babe," Her cooed. "Everything I said was true. I was a Turk, and now I'm not. I've gone rogue, much like your little Sephiroth."

"Liar!" Verna screamed and shot her gun.

The man stayed still, a smirk was present on his face, "You're not going to hit me with that thing. By the looks of how you're holding it you just got a gun and you haven't used it. Your aim is going to be way off! Even if you were lucky it probably wouldn't kill me!"

Verna's eyes widened as he ran towards her. He slammed her into a wall and forced the gun out of her hand. A yelp escaped her lips and her vision grew blurry. She still managed to look up at the menacing grin on his face. She was going to die here. She was going to meet her permanent Sunday rest.

"See how the colors run?" He questioned as a sudden stinging sensation burned from Verna's cheek. Blood oozed down her pale skin. "It's such a beautiful sight; blood. I can't wait to see your blood again, love."

Verna closed her eyes out of fear, hoping to rid herself of the impending doom that lingered over her. She should have given Rufus his name. She should have allowed him to bring him in. She should have placed her trust in him. Some change is for the best.

"Oh, you can't even look me in the eyes when I kill you?" Atli leaned forward so his lips were against her ear before he whispered, "Give me the pleasure of letting me watch you watch me while I kill you."

Verna choked back a sob as she struggled under Atli's grip, but it only tightened. Verna screamed for a split second, but it was covered with his rugged hand. She moved her knee up to attempt to hit him. She felt contact, but his grip didn't loosen. She was trapped, and there was no escaping.

"Now, should we start?"Atli smirked and thrust his knife through her shoulder.

Verna gave out a muffled scream from the sudden pain. Her knees shook as she threatened to give way, but he forced her to stand. Atli twisted the knife in place, tearing her tissue violently. Verna bit her tongue harshly and she tasted blood. He then stabbed her in her side and repeated the horrid action multiple times.

Atli laughed as he noticed Verna shaking from the pain. The site was just making him more excited. He was only focused on the blood staining her clothes. He was making sure that there was no way that Verna would be able to live past this. No, she would die here.

A gun shot rang off. Atli stumbled backwards at the sudden noise. He looked at his hand and noticed a bullet went through it. Blood started to leak down his wrist, his own blood. He looked over at the smoke escaping a shotgun wielded by one hand. This person was strong.

"So it's you?" Atli spoke as Verna fell to the ground. "Rufus Shinra coming to save the girl whose father was attempting to ruin your grand company."

Rufus narrowed his eyes. The man knew something about her father. He could get some information out of him. Rufus glanced down at the blood soaked body. He didn't have time for such meaningless things. If she wasn't already dead she would be soon.

Rufus fired his shotgun once more. The bullet went through Atli's head and he fell down to the ground, dead. Rufus walked over to Verna and knelt down. Blood made its way onto his clothes. He didn't care, he had spares of the same outfit. Rufus moved his hand to her pulse, it was growing weak, but she was still alive.

Rufus glanced over at Dark Nation and nodded his head to his trusted companion. Dark Nation growled lowly as a green orb glowed in its body. A light filled with multiple colors surrounded Verna's body. Rufus held his breath as he watched her clothes close to some extent. The bleeding slowed, but it didn't stop completely. She still needed a doctor.

Rufus placed his shotgun in his holster before scooping Verna up in his arms. He quickly made his way to the hospital. He may not win the race in getting to Sephiroth, he may not reach the top approval rate with those in Gaia, and he may not live the way as Verna, but it didn't mean he was stuck doing what everyone thought he should do. He was helping one of Shin-Ra's enemies, something that did not fit the mold of the president. And he was kind of going off course of Sephiroth, because of this girl. But he had to get her a doctor, he knew that the medicine that they would give her would giver he a stronger hold onto life than his cure materia.

Rufus found himself in front of the pharmacy earlier. It was closed. He narrowed his eyes and pounded on the door multiple times. He heard some grumbling from inside as the door open. It was the girl from earlier who gave Verna her prescription.

Her grey eyes widened as she ushered them inside. Theo, according to her name tag from earlier, cleared some things off of the table. Rufus placed the bleeding girl down. Theo ran over to a cabinet and took out a variety of medicines.

"Please step back, sir," Theo spoke as she began mixing a phoenix down and an X-Potion.

Rufus did so, but not by much. He watched intensely as Theo began forcing the mixture down Verna's throat. Theo moved some brown hair out of her face while doing so and watched for a reaction. It could very well be too late for it to work, but there was still hope.

Verna's breathing – which was rapid from before – began to slow down. Some color started to return to her cheeks; even if she didn't have much to begin with. Rufus gave out a sigh of relief. The medicine has worked. She wasn't dead.

-A/N—

That awkward moment when someone reviews your story and you don't remember what's in it…I was all like, "Yeah…Uhuh..Thanks." _

Anyways, I'm kind of struggling with the time frame of it all. I'm just going to say that Reno made it up that AVALANCHE was heading to Wutai…But they'll still be there soon, because of some ridiculous lie that Yuffie made up. Then it's to the Ancient Temple or something…And umm…We'll see. _ Must play the game!


	18. Chapter 18

Verna sat up in a bed. She winced at how sore her entire body was. She rubbed her shoulder and her eyes widened as she remembered what happened the night before. Verna looked at her shoulder and noticed it was bandaged. She must have been saved. She passed out before she could see who did so.

Verna looked around the room she was in to try and see who saved her. Her eyes narrowed, she was in Rufus's bedroom. Was he the one who saved her? Moving out from underneath the covers she gasped from the pain it was causing her. She must have been stabbed dozens of times for this amount of pain.

The door opened causing Verna to glance up at the person walking in. Her eyes met that of Rufus's. He kept a cold distant look to him, not that it was unusual. He sat a glass of water down on the end table next to Verna and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"I see you're awake," He spoke quietly.

"How long was I out?" Verna bit back a sarcastic reply. Something was telling her that she shouldn't mess with him.

"Not long, about 18 hours," Rufus moved some hair out of his face.

"What's wrong?"

Rufus looked over at her and raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"The fact that whenever you move your hair out of your face there's something bothering you," Verna raised two fingers, "And the fact that you avoided my question with another question. Now what's wrong?"

Rufus stood up and made his way to the door. He stopped once he was in front of it and turned his head to the side ever so slightly, "Don't make me worry about you like that again."

Verna froze as Rufus walked out of the room. He was actually worried about her? The ice cold president of Shin-Ra Electric Power Company? She looked over at the water he placed on the end table and took a sip from it. She nearly gagged at a bitter taste that was in it. He mixed the water with a potion.

Knowing that she'd have a hard time finishing it, Verna placed it back on the end table and slowly walked to the door in the room. She whispered an "ow" every other step before she walked outside. She heard a couple of voices down the hall causing her to stop in her tracks.

"They know I'm a spy," It was a males voice, but it wasn't Rufus's.

"I see," Rufus spoke. "What do you plan to do?"

"I'd like to keep on helping them, sir. I know it may cost me my job, but I think that's what would be best. We're heading to the Ancient Temple to find something called a Black Materia. We believe that Sephiroth is after it."

"Then go ahead and do that, I'll send Tseng there," Rufus seemed calm. Something of which Verna expected him to be angry with.

Dark Nation suddenly passed by her and walked over to where Rufus was.

"Verna, come in here," Verna jumped when Rufus spoke her name and she walked in cautiously. She looked over to a man in a blue suit and a beard. "This is Reeve. He's one of our department managers. I figured you might want to hurt him or something."

Verna knitted her eyebrows together and she saw a smirk on his face. Her face turned to that of realization. She's hurt not just two of the department managers, but Rufus as well. She gave out a nervous laugh realizing what she's done.

"I think I've done enough damage as it is, I don't need any more of your men wanting to kill me," Verna turned to Reeve and bowed. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Reeve returned the bow. "Forgive me if this sounds rude, but what are you doing here?"

"I'm the newspaper writer that's caused his company some trouble," Verna scratched the back of her head. "After negotiating with him we've come to a bit of an agreement."

"Oh?" Reeve glanced over at Rufus. "That's interesting. Now, if you'll excuse me I must get going. My puppet can't be unmanned for that long. Have a good day." Reeve bowed before leaving the building.

Verna was about to open her mouth to question Rufus, but he spoke before she could, "He's one of the few managers who isn't corrupt. He actually cares about what the consequences for his actions might be. He stands for the people. I figured having him around could be valuable if we ever want the citizens of Gaia to accept us."

"I see…" Verna nodded her head. "Thanks for saving me."

Rufus eyes her from the corner of his eye, "You shouldn't have gone after him. My company could have disposed of him fast enough."

"I wanted to get revenge for myself," Verna crossed her arms as she started to remember more of the encounter, particularly what he said to her. "Did he work for Shin-Ra?"

"What do you mean?"

"He told me he was a Turk…That he was ordered by you to kill me for whatever it was that my father did."

"I can assure you he wasn't a Turk," Rufus narrowed his eyes. He had known every single Turk worked for Shin-Ra since the time his mother died. The man that attacked Verna wasn't one of them. "He must have been trying to get under your skin, which it appears to have worked."

"Well," Verna shrugged. "You know, whenever someone tries to kill you it can have that affect. Luckily, I had you to save me."

"You're still a loser," Rufus spoke. Verna looked slightly shocked by his choice of words. He raised a hand, "It's something my father would tell me in escaping death. L is for loser." Rufus turned to her, "I disagree, though. If you can live then you should live."

Verna grinned, "You should keep that in mind. If Sephiroth returns to strike against your company he might go after you. You should have a Turk with you, or something."

Rufus glanced down at Dark Nation, "That's why I have him with me. He's the one that actually saved you."

"Oh?" Verna walked over to Dark Nation and bent down. "Then I should reward my hero with a kiss!" Verna kissed the top of the panther's head. "You're a good boy!"

Rufus huffed slightly and took his phone before dialing a number, "Tseng, I need you to head to the Ancient Temple. Sephiroth will be there. Take precaution." He hung up and looked at Verna, "You should get back to bed."

"I'm just a little sore," Verna stood up. "There are far worst fates than this. I'm pretty sure I can get through it."

Rufus sighed out of frustration and moved some hair out of his face, "Fine, but I need to go to Midgar soon. Shin-Ra's hosting an annual event and I need to use it to meet with Heidegger and Scarlet to make sure they're not getting into trouble."

"What kind of event is it?"

"A masquerade ball," Rufus looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

It was obvious by his expression that he was thinking. He examined Verna over multiple times. She took a step back feeling slightly uncomfortable of being under his eye. Rufus's mouth turned upwards into a smirk. Verna gulped at his sudden change in moods.

"You'll be going with me."

"What!?" Verna nearly shouted. "But Heidegger will be there, h-he'll kill me!"

"Palmer will be there as well."

"Even worse!"

"They won't know it's you if you're wearing a mask," Rufus spoke simply. "Besides, they won't kill you if you're my date."

-A/N—

I really want to up the romance in this fan-fiction. I feel like I struggle writing such things…Probably because I've yet to experience anything relatively close to having a boyfriend. Haha…A-Anyways, I hope you like it. - The idea came from a masquerade came from what my high school's prom theme is this year. If a guy asks me to dance I'm going to say, "Nobody cared who I was until I put on the mask." XD

Well, I'm thinking about writing a Genesis fan-fic next, but in an alternate universe. What do you guys think~?


	19. Chapter 19

"Just act elegant and proper," Rufus whispered into Verna's ear. "Try not to speak to too many people and they won't know that you really shouldn't be here."

"If I shouldn't be here then why did you bring me here?" Verna questioned quietly. She started to feel like some sort of freak.

"Because I wanted you to come with me."

Verna watched him suspiciously behind her mask. He's been acting odd ever since she went out of the building. He must have not trusted her anymore. Verna held back a sigh; doing so could cause some suspicions as to who she really is.

"President Rufus!" A voice sounded as the two made their way into Shin-Ra's building. "How nice to see you!"

Verna looked at a plumper man. He was wearing a couple of casts. It was Palmer. Verna hid a smirk behind her hand seeing the damage she caused him. Served him right, he was running away from a fight.

"Palmer," Rufus responded, there was slight amusement in his voice. "Were your wounds really that severe?"

"Yes," Palmer's face grew dark. "When I find the bitch who did this to me she'll have another thing coming! I heard it was the girl who was writing for the newspaper. Did you capture her yet?"

"I did," Rufus nodded his head. Verna looked up at him in alarm. "But she managed to escape. One of the soldiers fell asleep while guarding her." Verna relaxed at his lie. "Now, do you know where Heidegger and Scarlet are? I need to speak to them."

"They're bickering as usual," Palmer nodded. His eyes managed to look at Verna. "You have a date?" Behind Palmer's mask Verna could see he was shocked.

"Yes," Rufus nodded. "I do. Let's go."

He put an arm around Verna and guided her away from Palmer. The man was left with a dumbstruck expression. Rufus looked for a clear table and led Verna there. He shifted a seat out and motioned for her to sit down. Upon doing so he sat down as well.

"What was that all about?"

Rufus leaned back in his chair and observed other people in the room, "Nothing."

"It has to be something. The look on Palmer's face was priceless," Verna smiled slightly.

Rufus glanced over at her and shook his head, "It was nothing important. Now we know that he wants to kill you, though."

"Perfect," Verna rolled her eyes. "I just love it when people try to kill me. It just gives me an excuse to not show as much skin as most people would. And most people being like her." Verna motioned her head towards a woman with an extremely low cut dress that showed much of her cleavage. To make matters worse it was high cut on her legs.

Rufus glanced over and shook his head, "That's Scarlet. She dresses like that all the time."

Verna raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? Holy Shiva." Verna shook her head.

"I agree," Rufus looked Verna over. "I prefer a woman who knows how to dress herself, and not look like a prostitute, and who has some actual standards."

Verna turned slightly pink, but it was hidden by her mask. She looked to the side seeing Scarlet walking over. Her mouth was pursed together tightly, suggesting she was rather angry. Behind her was a bearded man, Heidegger.

Verna tensed up slightly seeing the man that gripped her while on the way to Junon. She moved her chair a little closer to Rufus subconsciously. Rufus looked at her quickly and back to the pair walking over.

"Sit," he commanded the new comers and they did so. "I need to speak to you about Sephiroth."

Scarlet looked over at Verna, a slightly catty look in her eyes, "Should your date really be here for that?"

Rufus nodded his head, "She already knows almost everything about what's going on."

"You told her?" Heidegger's rough voice questioned in shock.

"No," Rufus shook his head, "She found out on her own."

Verna flashed a smirk towards them feeling slightly proud of herself. Scarlet glared at her. Verna made a mental note that another manager of Shin-Ra might be after her if she wasn't careful with this girl. It seemed as if Reeve was the only one that didn't have any negative thoughts about her.

"Now," Rufus sounded. "I have Tseng heading to the Ancient Temple as we speak. Reeve informed me that they're after something called the Black Materia."

"Black Materia?" Scarlet questioned as a smirk formed on her face. "It seems like we could use some rather big Materia then, couldn't we?" Rufus sent her a questioning look. "I've been looking for some Huge Materia. The power that they have would be exponential!"

"Gongaga," Verna whispered as she remembered her at the reactor, where she found her Titan Materia. She looked down at her arm where her Materia was stored. She still had no idea how to use it.

"Mmm?" Scarlet narrowed her eyes, "Yes, I was there. I'm assuming you're referring to the ruined reactor there. Exactly how did you learn about all of this?"

"Scarlet," Rufus warned her. "Stick on topic."

Scarlet gave a suspicious look and continued, "I believe there's one in Corel and one in that rebel station south of the Chocobo farms. If we can get the Huge Materia then we'll be able to create a weapon great enough to destroy Sephiroth and whatever he might be planning."

Rufus took a moment to consider it, "Go ahead and gather the Huge Materia, but be careful not to do anything that will make my company look bad. Do you understand?"

"Yes, whatever," Scarlet rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Verna narrowed her eyes, that's not how one should treat their boss.

"Heidegger," Rufus looked over at the man with a short temper. "What are you planning on doing?"

"My Turks are going after AVALANCHE to take them out," He replied. "And I'm looking over that newspaper girl, I have a score to settle as you might know."

Rufus frowned, "I already told you not to go after AVLANCHE unless they interfere with us anymore." His face turned into that of fury. "Are you not going to listen to my orders?"

"Of course I will, sorry, sir," Heidegger's hands formed into fists. "Can I still go after the newspaper girl?"

"You can try," Rufus narrowed his eyes. "But good luck. Before the girl escaped-."

"You had her in custody?"

"I did…Now, before she escaped she gave me a name, but it turns out it was a false name and it had no relation to the newspaper."

Verna looked at Rufus in shock. He knew all along, but he didn't do anything else to try and get the truth from her. She looked down at her hands. She was starting to feel slightly guilty that she lied to him, but she couldn't betray her uncle.

"You may go after, but I doubt you'll find her."

"You underestimate my Turks," Heidegger gave a rough laugh.

"What did I say about that laugh?" Rufus stood up and narrowed his eyes. He placed his hands on Verna's chair and moved it out, "Let's go."

Verna nodded her head and stood up. Scarlet stood up as well. Verna gulped slightly as she followed Rufus to another part of the room. She couldn't help but feel the scrutinizing eyes of Scarlet on her.

"It seems like another one of your managers isn't the biggest fan of me," Verna pursed her lips together.

"Scarlet isn't the biggest fan of anyone," Rufus responded and then whispered to her, "If you run to her outside of this event you can go ahead and slap her, I won't have anything against it."

Verna began to laugh rather loudly. Tear built up in her eyes from laughing so hard. Rufus watched her and let out a small smile. Verna coughed as she tried to stop laughing. After a couple of minutes she recomposed herself and tried to wipe away her tears through the eye holes in her mask.

"Might I ask what's so funny? It's not every day that Rufus makes a person laugh," Verna looked over seeing Reeve standing there.

"Just that I gave her my permission to slap Scarlet," Rufus replied smoothly through a smirk.

Reeve chuckled for a moment, "That is rather humorous. I hope you won't try to hurt me, Ms. Alm."

"Not unless you do anything to hurt me," Verna grinned at him. "Besides, I don't want everyone in his company to want to strike revenge against me."

"Fair enough," Reeve nodded his head. "Now, President Rufus, AVALANCHE is almost at the Ancient Temple. Tseng should be there by now, according to Elena."

"Elena?" Rufus narrowed his eyes. "You talked to her?"

"She was at Wutai with Reno and Rude when AVALANCHE showed up. Tseng wasn't with them. She said he was on a mission. If he was already on his way there, then I'm assuming he made it, already. She should actually be here tonight."

"I see," Rufus nodded his head. "Thank you, Reeve. Keep me updated."

Reeve left, but was soon replaced with Scarlet, "Did you find something out, President Rufus?"

Rufus narrowed his eyes at the female, "Nothing that's important to what you're required to do."

"I see," Scarlet sighed and looked over at Verna. "Do you want to go to the washroom with me?"

"I," Verna froze not really sure what to do. Scarlet was up to something.

"Oh come on!" Scarlet forcefully grabbed onto Verna's arm and drug her away.

Rufus watched slightly angry that his manager would do that. He looked around the room for a Turk. His eyes landed on a blonde female. He walked over to her.

"Elena," Rufus spoke.

Elena turned around, "President Rufus!"

"Scarlet just took my date to the restroom, I want you to make sure that she doesn't do anything to her," Rufus spoke.

"Why?" Elena raised her eyebrows. She hasn't been a Turk long enough to learn not to question orders.

"Just make sure nothing happens, no matter who she is," Rufus ordered.

Elena scampered off towards the restroom.

Scarlet walked into the restroom and took her mask off before applying some makeup, "So how is it that you know Rufus?"

Verna shifted uncomfortably, "I-um…I ran into him at Rocket Town. I was there doing some research on space travel."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "And exactly what happened while you were there?"

"Well, Palmer was hit by a truck, so I ran over to see if I could help him," Verna pursed her lips together. "He was unconscious, so I took out some medical supplies to help him. Rufus was rather angry. He had that newspaper girl with him, so I didn't get to speak to him that much."

"Hmm, is that so?" Scarlet applied some red lipstick. "You know something?" She blotted her lips, "I think you're lying."

Verna's eyes widened, "And why is that?"

Scarlet walked over to her and crossed her arms over her chest, "Rufus wouldn't spend his time with someone like that. You must be some rich person who bought her way into going to this event with him."

Verna let out a small laugh, "I assure you I'm not rich. I'm just a middle class girl."

"Hmm, unlikely," Scarlet raised her hand and grabbed onto Verna's mask.

Verna gasped as she felt it being tugged away. She raised her hand and slugged Scarlet in the chin with her fist. Once Scarlet fell to the ground, Verna held her mask to her face and ran out of the bathroom. She ran into another girl and fell to the floor, her mask with it.

"Ah! Are you Rufus's date?" The girl questioned.

Verna looked up at the blonde and nodded her head before grabbing her mask and tying it back into place. Elena looked at her with a look of shock.

"You're the newspaper girl!" She whispered quietly. "Heidegger's after you!"

Verna stood up quickly and backed away from her, "And so is Palmer and now Scarlet…And maybe you."

"Oh! No! I report to Rufus before I report to Heidegger! He wanted to make sure nothing happened…Wait, why is Scarlet after you?"

"I punched her," Verna looked at the Turk, "Let's go."

Elena laughed and followed Verna quickly, "I know a few people who will be jealous that you did that!" She looked at the president waiting near a wall. "President!"

Rufus looked over and narrowed his eyes at the looks on their faces. They were in a hurry to get out of there. "What happened?"

"She punched Scarlet!" Elena laughed.

Verna smiled sheepishly, "She tried to take my mask off."

"My, my," Rufus ran a hand through his hair. Scarlet was going to be furious with him. "You really need to stop this habit of punching my employees and myself, Verna." He looked towards the restroom and noticed Scarlet with a swollen lip. "Not that I can complain, it just gives me an excuse to leave. Elena, stall Scarlet."

"Yes, sir!" Elena ran over to Scarlet.

"Come one," Rufus grabbed Verna's hand and began to lead her out of the area, maneuvering throughout the crowd. "Not this way!" Rufus stopped suddenly, causing Verna to run into him. "Other way!"

Verna couldn't help the grin on her face. She felt like a child running away from her parents when she was in trouble for something silly. The smile on Rufus's face made her smile even more. This night, which she was dreading, was something that she was actually enjoying. Rufus stopped and pushed Verna against a wall and moved close to her. Her face turned red as she looked up at him. His eyes followed Scarlet as she passed the two of them. Elena was running after her.

"That was a close one," Rufus sighed and looked down at Verna. "Let's get out of here before she finds us."

"Right," Verna followed him out of the building quickly.

Once the two were outside they both let out a sigh of relief. Verna let out a small laugh as she looked towards the building.

"That was fun," Verna looked over at Rufus, "Thanks for getting me out of there."

"Don't thank me yet," Rufus looked alarm and dragged Verna over to the limo we took. "She's coming out now."

Verna looked back at Scarlet storming over to them. So much for Elena stalling her. She climbed into the limo with Rufus close behind her.

"Drive!" Rufus ordered at the driver. The limo pulled away leaving Scarlet in the middle of the street stomping her feet.

Once the female manager was out of sight Rufus gave out a small laugh, causing Verna to speak, "You should laugh more." Rufus raised an eyebrow in her direction. "It lets people know that you're not a bad guy."

"Oh? And what makes you think I'm not a bad guy?" Rufus questioned. His entire demeanor changed making Verna feel slightly uncomfortable. "I might have saved you from your death and kept my managers from getting to you, but that doesn't mean I'm good in anyway."

"What do you mea-!?" Veran was suddenly pushed onto her back by Rufus.

"What if I wanted something in return?" He whispered in her ear as he pressed his body against hers. Her eyes widened at the situation she was in. "Could it have ever past through your mind that I might want to take advantage of all of the debt you've built up? You owe me something, Verna."

"No," tears built up in Verna's eyes, he was invading her personal space again. "Stop this!"

Rufus smirked from above her, "I have all the money and the power in the world; you could live a life of luxury if you let this happen, Verna."

"No!" Verna shrieked. She slammed her head up. A mind splitting pain erupted from her skull as she collided her head with Rufus's.

Rufus fell backwards clutching his head. He hissed out of the pain. Verna scampered away from Rufus to the far side of the limo. She couldn't jump out while it was moving, that'd be suicide. She rested her throbbing head onto her knees as silent tears streamed down her face.

Rufus looked at the girl as she shoulder shook ever so slightly. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I wasn't actually going to do anything, Verna." He scoffed and looked out the window, "I just wanted to test you."

"Test me in what?" She snapped back.

"To see if you had standards," Rufus crossed his arms across his chest. "I apologize for my actions. You do have standards."

_ "I prefer a woman who knows how to dress herself, and not look like a prostitute, and who has some actual standards."_


	20. Chapter 20

Verna walked into the mansion that she and Rufus were staying at during their visit to Midgar. Upon entering she released her torcher from her feet; that is her heels. The girl wiggled her toes at the sudden freedom that encompassed her feet. She gave a small smile, one that disappeared when she looked over at Rufus.

She bit her lip and looked away. Verna couldn't exactly grasp exactly what he did in the limo, or why he did it. It frightened her witless. Now that her parasympathetic nervous system kicked in she was able to analyze the situation calmly.

_"I prefer a woman who knows how to dress herself, and not look like a prostitute, and who has some actual standards."_

Those words echoed in her mind. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair and made her way to the guest room with her thoughts running. Was he seeing if she was suitable enough to be in his very presence? It seemed rather egocentric; then again that was his personality. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he deemed her not to have standards. Would he give someone else the permission to slap her as he gave her to slap Scarlet?

Verna opened the door to her bedroom and walked in. Her eyes glanced over to the flat screen television. Pursing her lips together she turned it on with the remote that was conveniently resting on the end table. The channel that was currently set on the television was not deemed suitable to her tastes; it was some trash show about pregnant teenagers. Were girls really that susceptible to lowering themselves to their primal instincts these days?

Shaking her head, Verna scrolled to where the more educational channels were. Documentaries were something of which she favored. Unfortunately for her, these so called scientific channels seemed to be more interested in showing the lives of people who wrestled gators and had to have sub titles to understand a single word uttered from their mouths. That or some person with the most…unique hair claiming everything that has happened was due to an alien of some sort intervening.

Verna's eyes lit up as she found a documentary suited to her tastes. She selected the channel and watched it as she stripped from her dress. Standing in her underwear she grinned seeing it was indeed a psychology documentary – focused mainly on stress.

Verna walked over to the wardrobe and took out some clothes and dressed into completely cleaned clothes. She sat back on the bed making note that she'd take a shower in the morning. Now she just wanted to watch the documentary without any interruptions.

But at times life can be a cruel bitch. At that very moment, right when Verna became extremely comfortable on the plush bed, a knock sounded on the door. Verna buried her face in a pillow and gave a scream of fury from the interruption. Begrudgingly getting up from her spot, Verna sulked over to the door and opened it.

"What!?" She spat at the intruder on her time of watching the documentary.

Rufus raised an eyebrow at her sudden fit of rage, "You're in a foul mood."

"If that's all you want to say to me then leave!" Verna fumed as she glanced back at the television, still trying to take in all of the information it had to offer.

"It isn't all I have to say to you."

"Then spit it out, I'm in the middle of watching a documentary," Verna crossed her arms – a body position that tells other people not to approach them.

"Very well," Rufus muttered running a hand through his hair. This woman can be a real pain at times. "I just wanted to thank you for attending this event with me…" He paused for a moment, thinking, "It was amusing to say the least. And…" He seemed to be drawing out the conversation.

Verna tapped her foot impatiently on the carpeted flooring, "And?" She urged him on, wanting to get back to the documentary.

"And I wanted to apologize for my actions earlier, they were uncalled for."

Verna raised an eyebrow and sighed, "Yeah, it's fine. Just don't do that again. Or I'll hurt your worse than I've hurt your managers."

Rufus smirked slightly, "Well, I wouldn't want that to happen." He lingered there for a moment or two. Conflicting thoughts were evident just by the expression on his face. Something of which confused Verna greatly. "Good night."

"Wait," Verna grabbed onto the sleeve of his white jacket.

Rufus looked back and an amused glint flashed across his icy blue eyes, "Don't you have a documentary to get back to."

"Do you want to watch it with me?" Verna questioned and let go of his jacket. "Just as a truce."

"Just as a truce then," Rufus chuckled and followed Verna back into the bedroom.

Verna sat on top of the covers and leaned against the headboard. Rufus sat on the other side of the bed. The two kept a suitable distance from the other – at least with what the bed would allow it.

Rufus glanced over at the person sitting on the bed with him; she seemed completely engulfed in the documentary. He couldn't exactly deduct the reason as to why she would be so interested. It was merely talking about stress and how it relates to a hierarchy; those on top experience less stress than those on the bottom.

He crossed his arms and gave quiet discontent noise; he experienced a high amount of stress in his daily life. Surely he had more experience than some of his employees, and he was at the top.

Verna glanced over at him with the noise he gave, "Is something wrong?"

"You're not at the top, how much stress do you experience?"

"A lot," Verna looked back over to the television. "I have anxiety, remember? I'm always stressed."

"Does it cause you to get sick?"

"Yeah," Verna nodded her head, "But only once I start to relax will I get sick. That's because my body gives out and says it can't handle the stress anymore. I guess I've sort of conditioned myself to stay stressed, otherwise I'll get sick. It's an avoidance-avoidance situation, really."

"You watch these documentaries a lot, don't you?"

"All the time. Now what about you? I mean your stress levels."

Rufus sighed lightly, "It's horrible. Making sure that the company is presentable to the rest of the world can be infuriating at times, especially with Heidegger and Scarlet. The people hate the company, so that's taxing as well."

"Mmm," Verna crossed her legs as a distant look crossed her face. "Maybe you're stressed because you're not in the hierarchy of things. Sure, you might be at the top of your company, but not in society. People dislike you, which placed you closer to the bottom. Maybe it's more important than running your company. That could explain your higher levels of stress."

"Maybe," Rufus spoke softly as he thought. He was always looking for praise, something that his father always neglected to give him. Now, he was looking for praise on the planet, but no one would give him any was well.

"I'm just glad that you're trying to change things for the better." Except her, she would praise him and show some respect that wasn't out of fear.

Rufus looked back to the television. He jumped slightly, as well as Verna, when the doorbell began to ring furiously. Verna groaned into a pillow at yet another distraction. Rufus stood up and grabbed the remote and hit a button. He looked back at Verna, who wasn't watching him. Smirking slightly he walked out of the room.

"Stay here, it could be Scarlet coming to kill you," Rufus spoke in a taunting way.

Verna growled lightly at his meaningless words. She stood up from the bed and followed Rufus to the door. She'd hide at the top of the stairs, just to see who it was. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Besides, she had about six lives left – five if you count her interaction with Heidegger.

Rufus opened the door and stiffened as a blonde female came bursting through the door. Verna shot back seeing the color of the hair; was she seriously here to kill her? Though, at the sound of a higher pitched voice she eased her way from where she was hiding. It wasn't Scarlet, it was Elena.

Elena's face was streaked with mascara that ran. Tears continuously ran down her face. The female Turk sniffed as she tried to collect herself in front of the company's manager. She failed miserably.

"Elena?" Rufus questioned, "What happened?"

"T-Tseng!" Elena shook as her hands turned into tight fists. "R-Reeve…E-Explain it!"

Rufus looked up seeing a man in a blue suit. He stepped to the side to let the man in. He nodded curtly to him. The polite smile that was on his face was currently missing. Something was severely wrong.

"Tseng has been seriously injured by Sephiroth," Reeve spoke gravely. "He may be dead as we speak."

By now Verna walking down the stairs with a box of tissues in her hands; she ran back to the room to grab some. She handed the box to Elena and gave her a sympathetic look. Elena must have had a close relationship with Tseng.

Rufus took the moment to think things through. The most apt Turk was most likely killed by Sephiroth. Sure, Sephiroth may have been a general and a first-class SOLDIER, but he didn't think he'd be able to take out a Turk so suddenly.

"Where was he?"

"The temple. We did run into Sephiroth while we were there," Reeve spoke slightly hesitant. "When we were at the temple we stumbled upon something unnerving."

"What was it?"

Reeve hesitated. He licked his lips to wet them, something that must have been a nervous quirk. He looked around. It seemed that whatever it was brought a great amount of stress onto him.

"The end of everything."

-A/N—

Like the bit of psychology I threw in there~? Why did I do it? Because I'm trying to review for my AP Psychology exam. -_-' I have 3 AP classes this year. *sighs* Being more apt in intelligence (both crystalized and fluid) is awesome at times, but others it's a pain in the ass.

Did anyone even get the psychology…? TT_TT

Oh and one big favor to ask of all of my few readers~! I'm going to college in August and I still haven't decided what I should major in. As of now I've been considering Graphic Design: Print Concentration, English: Writing Concentration, Psychology, or Biology (though I'm steering away from that, because I'd have to take chemistry and I despise chemistry). Any opinions on what I should do? If I do go into graphic design I'd most likely go into designing posters (since I've all of the posters the school has asked my class to design) or into the comic book industry…Maybe write a video game or two.

And I have a very short chapter that follows this…Like five hundred words short. ;_;


	21. Chapter 21

"What do you mean?" Rufus hid his emotions well, but his sense of growing anxiety increased with his pulse.

_The girl in the pink dress looked at the wall. Sadness littered her eyes as she looked over at the people she has been traveling with; her friends._

"When we were there the Cetra had carvings engraved onto the walls," Reeve crossed his arms uncomfortably. "It shows a giant meteor hitting Gaia. They prayed to the life stream to make it stop, but it did come with a price. They gave up their lives in order to protect Gaia."

_She looked at the blond SOLDIER. His eyes reminded her so much of her first love. He died and he was gone. She looked back at the walls and what her people did. _

"There's a Black Materia in the temple. Cait Sith is solving a puzzle in order for the others to retrieve it. They're going to keep it out of Sephiroth's hands. We believe that this Black Materia is able to summon the same Meteor that threatened to destroy Gaia. Also, we think that Professor Gast made a mistake when identifying Jenova."

"What do you mean?"

"Jenova is what attempted to kill the planet with the Meteor. She's what caused the Cetra to sacrifice themselves. She wasn't a Cetra."

_When they weren't looking she snuck away. Tears threatened to flow down her face, but she wouldn't show it. She wouldn't show that she was scared out of her mind. She knew that he, her first love, must have felt the same all the time. And yet, the only time he cried was when his friend died, and she comforted him._

"We believe that Sephiroth is heading north, to the crater," Reeve spoke.

"Crater?" Rufus spoke.

_She didn't have anyone to comfort her now. No, she had to do this on her own. She was the last of her people. She had to do this. She had to go to-_

"Where Meteor hit Gaia previously."

_Her ears echoed with the voices of the planet. They were becoming louder and louder. She supposed it was because she accepting who she really was. Now, they told her what she must do in order to save everyone. She would have to pray to the life stream._

"We think that Sephiroth's body is there."

"Body?" Rufus questioned confused.

"Every time we see him it hasn't been his actually body," Reeve spoke. "We're still not entirely sure what is going on. It may be an illusion, or it may be some sort of Materia. But if Sephiroth is anywhere, it'd be there. Where Jenova attempted to destroy the planet."

_They sacrificed themselves in order for others to live and for the planet to live. They as sacrificed themselves for what they loved._

_She loved her friends and the planet they lived on._


	22. Chapter 22

"Is everything packed?" Rufus glanced over at her. Verna nodded hesitantly. Why he was having her come was beyond her. Did he still not trust her? "Let's go."

"Why are you having me go with you, Rufus?" Verna asked quietly as they walked out of his mansion and into a car. "I won't run away. It's not like I'm desperate to escape. Besides, I'm getting some good news stories by staying here."

"Isn't it obvious?" Rufus smirked smugly as he watched her confused expression. "You really are clueless, aren't you?"

"What do you mean!?" Verna crossed her arms and huffed as she leaned against the car's window. "I'm a rather cultured and intelligent human being. Are you saying my intellect is lower than what I claim it is?"

"You're clueless when it comes to emotions of others," Rufus stated simply.

"Not negative emotions," Verna rolled her eyes. "I think I pick up on those rather well. Positive emotions, I don't."

"Then, can you connect the two to what I said?" Rufus rested his chin on the palm of his hand as the driver took off towards the out parts of Midgar. He changed the topic quickly; he'd give Verna time to ponder on it later. "Here's a fan to hide your face. Heidegger and Scarlet could very well manage to get onto the airship."

Verna groaned, "Fantastic." She examined the fan, "Did it come from Wutai?"

"That it did," Rufus nodded.

The two fell into small chit chat until arrival of the airship.

"Stay close to me," Rufus whispered to Verna.

Verna fanned herself to hide her face. If Heidegger spotted her things would get messy. She still had a feeling that Scarlet would recognize her should they come into contact. Verna glanced around nervously. She really needed to learn how to use her Materia in case they approached her.

"Hey Rufus?" Verna questioned quietly. "Would it be okay if I wrote a news story about my time on this ship and I take a picture of Heidegger just to antagonize him?"

Rufus smirked, "That would be fun."

"So I can?"

"I didn't say you couldn't. Besides, by the time the article is published we'll be long gone," Rufus walked towards the command room. He tensed slightly at seeing Scarlet and Heidegger there already. He muttered, "Damn."

Verna looked out from behind her and quickly held the fan closer to her face. She had to hold herself back from holding onto his jacket. Heidegger and Scarlet turned around to greet their President. Scarlet narrowed her eyes at Verna. She knew that it was her, no doubt about it.

"I surprised you brought the little tramp back, Rufus," Scarlet laughed half-heartedly.

Rufus clenched his fists. Verna watched as his shoulders shook in anger. He didn't have to take it so personally. It's not like the verbal assault was directed towards him.

"She did get the better of you, Scarlet. I see you still have a hideous black eye," Rufus retorted. "Besides, if you really want to keep your job you better keep your mouth shut. I could always just give it to her. I am the president after all."

If looks could kill, Verna would be killed over nine thousand times. Scarlet huffed and stormed past the two and left the room. Heidegger gave out a laugh at the manager's reaction. It gave him pleasure to see her suffer. Rufus scowled and walked towards the front with Verna close behind him.

"We will be there soon," Heidegger informed. "Then, we'll be able to get the Black Matera for ourselves."

"Very good," Rufus nodded. "We'll just have to watch Cloud. Reeve informed me that he was acting oddly."

Heidegger frowned slightly and glanced at Verna, "I don't believe I ever caught your name, Miss."

"It's Jane," Verna replied smoothly. She noticed a shock look on Rufus's face. She hasn't told him about all of the aliases she's used in her life. "Jane Alian. It's nice to actually meet you, Mister Heidegger."

"The pleasure is all mine," He spoke and smiled at her. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze.

Rufus stepped between them and turned to Verna, "Let's go show you your room, Jane."

Verna nodded and quickly followed him. She glanced back at Heidegger who was watching her like a hawk,. she didn't like it. Rufus put a protective arm around her and guided her through the metal hallways.

"You should probably stay in your room, just to avoid him," Rufus spoke.

"But what if I were to have my soldier uniform from Junon still?" Verna smirked up at the President.

Rufus quirked an eyebrow, "Then that would be acceptable. Just make sure your hood doesn't fall off again." He paused for a moment. "Exactly how many Shin-Ra uniforms do you have?"

"I have a Turk's uniform with a pass key and a soldier's uniform," Verna lifted two fingers in the air. "There really aren't any other uniforms that I could wear, unless I wanted to be a scientist or a doctor."

"I see," Rufus opened the door to Verna's room and walked in with Verna close behind him. He closed the door, away from peering eyes or ears. "Now how many fake names do you have?"

"Let's see," Verna pursed her lips together, "Samantha Hertson, Elizabeth Walker, Kyra Lane, and Jane Alian are my most common ones." She grinned childishly, "I have to keep your company on a wild race to keep you away from the newspaper." Rufus nodded as looked at her, not really listening. "Err…Why are you looking at me like that, Rufus?"

"No reason," Rufus snapped out of his daze and head towards the door. "Be careful."

"Huh?" Verna tilted her head ever so slightly. "Yeah, you too."

He looked back, as if he were hesitant in leaving. His hand resided on the door handle. Rufus suddenly turned around and gripped Verna by the shoulders. She looked up shocked at the president who was invading her personal space, and yet she didn't make a move to get away.

"If you need to use your Materia pray to the life stream to offer you its power," He spoke. "All Materia comes from the life stream. That's how you use it." He leaned down and pecked her cheek before fleeing the room.

Verna held a hand to her cheek. A bright blush covered her face. She fell to her bed in a slight daze. It was a mere peck on her cheek, and yet it sent bolts of electricity throughout her body. She hasn't felt like this in well…Ever.

Verna shook her head shaking the thoughts out of her head. She had to get some pictures to get under Heidegger's skin. Verna quickly stripped of her clothes and replaced it with the soldier uniform she packed. It was a little big, but it'd work. She then grabbed her camera and scurried out of the room.

She watched as mechanics scurried about once the air craft took off. She clung to the wall until she could keep her balance. Gulping, Verna ventured to the command center, where Heidegger would be. Verna smirked darkly under her hood and placed her camera in her sleeve. She'd pretend to stretch and capture a few shots.

Verna walked in behind some other soldiers and stood between them. Her eyes darted around the room, Rufus and Heidegger were there. She blushed once she looked at the president. Looking away she stretched her arm and pressed her finger on the capture button rapidly. It was aimed at Heidegger. Moving her arm back down, Verna looked at the other soldiers. They seemed relax, so she didn't have to worry about fitting in.

"Rufus!" Scarlet walked into the control room. "Do you know where your date is?"

Rufus looked over with suspicion, "I left her in her room. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I went to her room and she's not there!" Scarlet crossed her arms. "I just wanted to have some girl talk, that's all."

Verna rolled her eyes. That was highly unlikely. Scarlet probably wanted to get even. Still, she couldn't find it amusing that Scarlet couldn't find her, even when she was right under Scarlet's nose.

"She probably just wanted to explore a bit," Rufus looked at the soldiers, seeing if he could tell if one of them was Verna. "She'll be back soon."

"I'll just wait by her room, then," Scarlet replied haughtily before leaving.

Verna cursed under her breath. She didn't want Scarlet to see her wearing the soldier uniform. That would cause some suspicion. She was tempted to follow her, but decided against it. If she left now it'd cause suspicion. She'd have to wait for some of the other soldiers to leave.

"How has your search for that Verna girl going, Heidegger?" Rufus questioned and watched the soldiers to see if there was a reaction from any of them. Verna looked at Rufus and revealed her camera to him before concealing it. He smirked slightly, "Anything new?"

"It's like she disappeared from the face of the earth," Heidegger growled slightly. "No one has reported any sightings. We did some research into her background, though. We found something interesting."

Verna looked at Heidegger slightly confused. There was nothing interesting about her past besides the fact that her father left when she was young, she was almost killed by her boyfriend trying to find her father, and she worked for a rogue newspaper. Her eyes widened, could it have something to do with her father?

Rufus looked out of the window as the Northern Crater was nearing, "Tell me about it later."

"You don't want to know about it now?" Heidegger raised an eyebrow. "It has to do with your company."

"In that case we'll have to make sure no one will be listening in as we discuss it," Rufus gripped onto the railing. "We'll just have to focus on getting the Black Materia for now."


	23. Chapter 23

Rufus left the control room shortly. He motioned for her to follow him. Verna quickly ran after him, eager to get away from Heidegger. She already got her shots of him. She just wished she could see his face when he saw them.

"Scarlet's still outside your room," Rufus noted at the sight of the not-so-prudish female.

Verna frowned. This was going to be problematic. All of her things were in her room, including her laptop. Her eyes widened. Her laptop. Scarlet could very well hack into it and read her news articles and then her cover would be blown.

"I can't let her get to my laptop," Verna whispered to Rufus.

Rufus nodded slowly as he approached the room, "Scarlet, step aside."

Scarlet did so begrudgingly, "Why do you need to get into her room?"

"Jane's having an issue with motion sickness. She'll be staying in my room, so I can keep an eye on her," Rufus walked in and grabbed a bag while Verna grabbed the rest. "I'm just getting her things."

"Tch, whatever," Scarlet crossed her arms as she looked out into the hallway. She took a step back and gulped audibly.

Verna looked over to see a man with greasy slicked back hair hunched over. The man pushed his glasses up as he examined everyone in the room. Behind him was a Turk. Verna's seen him before, his name was Rude. The man in the white lab coat, she didn't know.

"Caring for another human being, President? That's highly unlike you," The man remarked in a voice that seemed to claw at chalkboards. "Exactly who is this Jane? Hmm? She surely must be the specimen."

"Hojo," Rufus glared. "I seem to remember you abandoning Shin-Ra. What are you doing here?"

"I was merely on a vacation before Sephiroth killed your father," Hojo placed his hands behind his back. "I'm here to see the crater. I have a hypothesis that I want to see. If it turns out I'm right things will be very interesting."

"And what would that hypothesis be?"

"Oh, nothing that concerns you, for now," Hojo turned to leave. "I don't want to interfere with him, not at all. Besides, it's probably too late for you to stop anything."

He walked away with the Turk close on his tail. It was obvious that no one trusted the man – the scientist. Verna certainly didn't like him – at all. He seemed like he could care less about the lives of others just as long as he could run an experiment.

"Let's go," Rufus walked past Verna and led her to her room. Verna looked back as Scarlet started to follow them.

"I should see if she's alright," She tried to play off.

"Absolutely not," Rufus responded in a harsh tone that was borderline yelling. "If you set foot into my room you will be fired immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

Rufus looked back at the manager. Verna felt her heart leap at the menacing glare. His eyes were extremely cold. She's never once seen this side of him. Yes, it seemed like his temper was starting to go to the extreme on this ship, but he still managed to remain calm. Now…His calmness was evaporating under the hellish flames of his wrath.

Scarlet shrank away as Rufus opened the door to his room. Verna followed hesitantly as he threw the bag down onto the ground. Verna thanked the life stream that there were just clothes in that bag and nothing breakable. She placed down her bags and shut the door before removing her hood.

"Rufus? Are you alright?" She questioned quietly, somewhat afraid of his current mood.

Rufus sat down on the bed and ran both of his hands through his hair. They stopped as he gripped onto his hair tightly – threatening to pull it out. Verna walked over to him and knelt down so she could look up at his face. Her eyes searched for his eyes, but they were shut tightly.

"Hey," Verna spoke softly as she placed her hands on his wrists, "Don't pull your hair out, I rather like your hair. It'd be shame if you were to lose it at such a young age."

Rufus loosened his grip on his hair and slowly lowered his hands to his sides. Verna smiled softly at the president.

"Good," Verna stood up and sat next to him on the bed. "Now what's wrong?"

Rufus sighed before looking at her, "The Black Materia that Sephiroth is after has the possibility to destroy Gaia. Cloud did end up giving it to Sephiroth."

Verna's eyes widened, "When did you figure this out? I thought Cloud and the other had it!"

Rufus ran a hand through his hair again, "Reeve didn't want to tell me about it in front of Elena or you. But now Sephiroth has it and he's heading to the Promised Land. It's an area with a large concentration of energy. It has enough energy to summon Meteor, which would end up destroying everything."

Verna looked at her hands, "So Meteor will most likely be summoned, then?"

Rufus grimaced, "I'd like to think otherwise, but I can't."

Verna nodded slowly, "I see…" She played with her nails as she spoke, "If that happens then I'm glad about what's happen." Rufus looked at her as if she were insane. "Not about Meteor! I'm glad that I kicked Heidegger, hit Palmer with a truck, got caught by you, punched Scarlet, and the fact that I'm here now."

Rufus shook his head a hand covered his mouth to hide a smile. His shoulders shook. Alas, he couldn't hide it anymore. He burst out laughing. It was ridiculous that the girl would be happy here. She was practically a prisoner.

Verna smiled sheepishly at the president. She knew it sounded odd, but it was the truth. She's gotten inside stories of Shin-Ra without the risk of being caught, because well – she was already caught.

Rufus suddenly grabbed Verna by the wrist and pulled her down as he lied down. Verna yelped out of shock as she landed on top of him. She was going to ask what he was doing, but he shushed her. Looking up, Verna noticed that his eyes were closed. A blush crept up onto her face, but she remained where she was and listened to his heart beat rapidly – something that slightly concerned Verna, but she pushed it to the side.

"Rufus?" Verna questioned in a whisper. He replied with a small grunt, "I…" Verna paused. "Never mind…"

Rufus looked down, but Verna kept her eyes shut, "Have you figured out what we were talking about in the car?"

"No," Verna shook her head slowly. "I'm not good with positive emotions. Even if I have an idea I keep my mouth shut, because I might be wrong."

"So you do have an idea?"

"I never said that," Verna pouted lightly.

Rufus chuckled lightly, "List some positive emotions and maybe you'll figure it out."

"Um…Alright," Verna sat up and Rufus sat up with her. "Joy, gratitude, serenity, hope, pride, amusement, interest, inspiration, awe, and..." She stopped her list and closed her mouth.

Blushing, Verna stopped herself from saying "love." She knew that Rufus wouldn't feel that, or anything close to that. No, they didn't know each other long enough for it to be love. The most it would be was a crush, nothing more. Even then, Verna knew that he didn't feel that. No one would feel that towards her. Her first and only boyfriend proved that.

Verna looked up at him shyly to see he was rather close to her. She squeaked quietly. Her heart pounded - something that typically occurred thanks to her anxiety. With this, it was different. It wasn't so negative. No, it was something more positive.

"You missed an emotion," Rufus whispered.

Rufus was leaning into the close the gap. A knock sounded on the door. Verna's eyes were wide and her face was completely flushed at the sound. Rufus moved back quickly. Complete anger filled his entire being, Verna could see that just by the change in body language.

"If it's Scarlet I swear I'm going to kill her," Rufus got up and opened the door. "What!?"

"Uh, hey, sir," It was the red headed Turk, Reno. "I figured you'd want Dark Nation." Reno glanced into the room, "So you still have the girl with you, huh? Hope I wasn't interrupting anythi-!"

Rufus slammed the door in his face once Dark Nation walked in. Verna leapt up and skipped over happily to the black panther before showering it with affections. Verna kissed the top of its head.

"Hi, Dark Nation!" Verna cooed. "I just love you, yes I do!"

"Oh sure, now she says the emotion," Rufus muttered below his breath and ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be more difficult than he expected.

-A/N-

So we had a snow day yesterday and guess what! I had a freaking fever. -_- Which meant I couldn't come to school today, because under school regulations one is not allowed to attend if one has a fever within 24 hours. *sighs* And I missed a math test. Oh well~! I still feel a bit weak and out of it, so I apologize if this chapter is apt for your tastes. ;_;


	24. Chapter 24

Verna walked into the control panel. She was disguised in her soldier's uniform. "Jane" was still feeling sick and didn't want to come out of Rufus's room, much to Scarlet's displeasure. Verna watched as Scarlet leaned against the railing. She pressed her breasts together to try and get the attention of the crew. It went unnoticed by most. Heidegger, on the other hand, kept his distance from Rufus who was near the railing – away from Scarlet.

"So, I finally found you," Rufus whispered to himself.

Scarlet let out a sudden burst of high pitched laughter. Verna winced, neither of the managers had pleasant laughs. They were scratchy. She had to resist from holding her hands over her ears.

"This is incredible!" Scarlet looked eager. A malicious glint crossed her face.

Heidegger contributed to the horrid laughing fest as he spoke, "This is the Promised Land the President had been searching for!"

Rufus narrowed his eyes as he turned around to face his two managers, "But, I'll be the one who gets it." He turned back around and moved some hair out of his face, "Sorry, old man."

He gripped onto the railing. Yes, this could very well be the only thing that would stop Sephiroth from destroying the planet. He could really care less about the seemingly limitless mako energy that this place could provide. He just wanted to ensure the planet's safety and those that resided on it.

Verna turned back at the sound of yet another laugh, though this was muffled behind a hand. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Professor Hojo. She already despised this man. She glanced at Rude who appeared uncomfortable in his presence as well.

"That land is no one's," Hojo started. Verna had half the mind to slug him, but she restrained herself – she'd do that later. "It's where the Reunion will take place…They will all gather here…" Rude turned around, not wanting to hear Hojo, but he continued. "I wonder if we'll see…Sephiroth?"

Verna perked her head. It's been awhile since she'd actually had him in her news articles. If he was there, well, things would get messy. She decided it'd be better that he wasn't there. She prayed to Shiva, Odin, anyone that he wouldn't be there to destroy the planet.

She was snapped out of her prayer and followed Scarlet, and Rufus from the airship and into the crater. A cave was there.

She stood there breathless. Her eyes were looking around the area. It was beautiful. The crystals were filled with mako energy. She felt the materia in her arm burn slightly, but she didn't pay too much attention. She quickly took a picture with her hidden camera. It might not go in the newspaper, but she wanted it to remember this moment.

"Mr. President…" Verna looked over at a nervous looking Scarlet, "I've got a bad feeling about this place."

Rufus glanced over at Verna who shrugged, "Hmm…Maybe we should go back to our ship now. We need to prepare for inspection anyway."

A sudden wind and bright light filled the area. Verna screamed out of shock and covered her eyes. It disappeared as soon as it came. She removed her hands to see three new people; Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett.

"Hey!" Scarlet took a step forward, "Where did you come from?"

Verna glanced at Cloud who lifted his head, "Don't know." He shook his head and looked over at Rufus, "This place is going to get rough. Better leave things to me and get out of here while you still can!"

Rufus narrowed his eyes and moved some hair out of his face, "Leave things to you? Hmph…I don't know what you mean."

Cloud turned around slightly dejected and shook his head some more, "This is where the Reunion is happening. Where everything begins and ends."

Verna looked at Tifa as she ran over, closer to Cloud. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her eyes shifted to a strange cat looking thing. It had a tattoo on it that read XIII.

"I'm here! I'm here to help you, Cloud!" It spoke, which shocked Verna greatly.

Verna shifted her attention to Cloud. Something changed. Flashes of pain crossed his face and he shook his head. He took some steps towards the new cat. He shook his head some more and it appeared he was struggling. He finally stopped in front of the cat.

"Thanks…Red XIII," He spoke, void of emotions. "Where's the Black Materia?"

Verna's eyes widened, "Rufus!" She whispered towards him.

"It's safe, I'm holding onto it," Red XIII replied to Cloud. He looked up at the human with innocent eyes.

"I'll take it from here," Cloud reached a hand out, "Give me the Black Materia."

"No…" Verna tried to take a step forward, but something was stopping her.

Red XIII tilted his head, "Are you alright, Cloud?" Cloud nodded and Red XIII sighed in relief before handing Cloud the material, "Then…Here you go. I was a little apprehensive holding this thing."

"Thanks, leave the rest to me." Cloud walked back to where he originally was and looked up, as if he was hearing something. He then glanced at everyone in the area. "Everyone, thanks for everything. And…I'm sorry." He looked at Barrett. "Sorry…" He looked at Red XIII. "Sorry…" He finally turned to Tifa, "Especially you, Tifa. I'm sorry. You've been so good ot me…I don't know what to say." He shook his head, his eyes filled with melancholy, "I never lived up to being 'Cloud'. Tifa…Maybe one day you'll meet the real 'Cloud'."

Tifa fell to her knees. She broke out into a full on sob as Cloud walked to Professor Hojo. Hojo watched him with slight interest as he started laughing.

"This is perfect! It means that my experiment was a complete success!" Verna growled and took a step forward, but Rufus held an arm out to stop her. Hojo continued, "What number were you? Huh?" Hojo frowned, "Where is your tattoo?"

Cloud sighed, "Professor Hojo, I don't have a number. You didn't give me on because you said I was a failed experiment."

Hojo turned to complete fury and turned his back to Cloud, "What the-? You mean only a failure made it here?" Cloud suddenly begged the professor to give him a number. Hojo merely scoffed in disgust, "Shut up, miserable failure."

Cloud sighed. Suddenly, his body shot up towards the ceiling of the cave. Verna watched in amazement at the scene unfolding before her eyes.

Rufus watched in suspicion that this wasn't Cloud and turned to Hojo, "Who was that?"

"He's a Sephiroth-clone I created after the real Sephiroth died five years ago," Hojo replied simply. "Jenova cells and Mako, with my knowledge and skills, have been combined with science and nature to bring him to life." He paused, "I'm not wild about the failure part, but the Jenova Reunion Theory has been proven."

He watched as Rufus watched with scrutinizing eyes before he continued, "You see, even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That's what is meant by Jenova's Reunion. I have been waiting for the Reunion to start. Five years have passed, and now the clones have begun to return. I thought the clones would begin to gather at Midgar where Jenova is stored. By my prediction were wrong and they didn't gather at the Shin-Ra building. But being the genius that I am, I soon figured it out. You see it was all Sephiroht's doing

"Sephiroth is not just content to diffuse his will into the Lifestream. He wants to manipulate the Clones himself. I wondered where the clones were going, but I was never able to figure it out. The one thing that I did know as that Sephiroth was at their final destination."

Verna looked down as she took it all in. If these clones were a part of Jenova, or Sephiroth, then they would try to destroy everything. And if they were all joining back to their original source then that meant Sephiroth was indeed here. Now, all they'd just need was the Black Materia. Which Cloud had…Her head shot up towards him. Cloud was now out of reach!

Rocks begin to shift and fell down to where they were standing. They all scrambled to get out of the way. Hojo remained in his spot calmly as he watched everything unravel. A piercing sound came from the ground. It sounded like the cave wanted to collapse on itself.

Rufus began to push Verna out of the cave, "Get out of here and back onto the airship!"

"What about you?" Verna retorted with Scarlet nearby.

"Just go!" Rufus commanded. Verna nodded and started to head back as Rufus and Scarlet walked back inside. Verna stopped at the entrance, she wouldn't go back. She'd wait for him.

Rufus walked back to get the others, this was getting too dangerous. He stopped when he heard Hojo speak.

"Did you see it!? It's Sephiroth! So he IS here!" He sounded crazed. "This is perfect! Both Jenova's Reunion and Sephiroth's will! They won't be diffused into the Lifestream, but gathered here!" He burst out laughing.

Rufus was about to speak, but Tifa took the words right out of his mouth, "What are you so happy about, Professor? You know what this means, don't you? Cloud has the Black Materia! Sephiroth is going to summon Meteor! Every single person is going to die!"

Rufus walked forward quickly and moved a strand of hair out of his face, he was debating on apologizing for what Shinra has done, but there was no time.

Instead he spoke in a hurry, "Whatever I say now is too little too late. We must evacuate. I want you all to come with me. There's still much more I want to know."

The sound grew louder and Red XIII turned around, "Cloud, No! Stop! Please!"

Tifa's hair whipped around. The sound stopped, but was replaced by a high pitched wind. Her hands shot up to her mouth.

"Cloud!" She screamed in agony.

Cloud clutched his stomach in pain as he fought an inner battle. His face suddenly turned blank. In his hand was the Black Materia. That hand stretched out and pierced an odd substance. In that odd substance was Sephiroth. The Black Materia was shrouded in shadows as it neared Sephiroth.

Bolts of electricity sprung out. The ground began to shake. Everyone ran out of the cave as it started to collapse. Rufus spotted Verna waiting. He cursed under his breath and grabbed her by the arm as they ran for the air craft.

The engines were already running as they all boarded the air craft. Barrett and Tifa stayed on the deck where other members of AVALANCHE were. Rufus forced Verna inside. Once they were inside he pushed her to the ground and shielded her with his body.

A sudden burst of energy erupted from the ground. The aircraft shot across the sky in an attempt to outrun the approaching energy. That was the least of their issues. A monster, that was a massive size, was now right next to the aircraft. A force field surrounded it. It gave out an all-mighty roar and sped off, barely grazing the aircraft.

This graze caused the entire crew to yell in shock. Multiple people hit their head. Loose items flew to the other side of the craft. Verna held onto Rufus tightly as they tried to stay where they were and stay away from minor injuries.

Out on deck Tifa screamed. Her head hit the railing with such force it knocked her out. Barrett tried to catch her before she hit the cold metal, but he was too late. He looked out to where the monster flew, but it was already far off into the distance.

Once things calmed down the airship began to fly off.

-A/N—

I have enough reviews for the Sephiroth picture~! I'll try and get this done within the next week or so.


	25. Chapter 25

Verna unlocked a door and placed a tray filled with food on the end table. Barrett was glaring bullets at her. She felt slightly uneasy seeing as he had a gun on his hand and could very well shoot her. She glanced over at the door and shut it. Sighing, Verna removed her hood.

"It's been awhile, Barrett," Verna spoke, keeping her back to him. "Last time I saw any of you guys was in Rocket Town when I hit Palmer with a truck. Then again, none of you saw me." She turned around and gave a nervous smile.

"Verna?!" Barrett questioned slightly shocked. "So you are a spy for the Shin-Ra!?"

Verna shook her head, "No, I'm not. I'm not allowed to leave under Rufus's supervision. If anything I'm spying on Shin-Ra."

"Shit," Barrett crossed his arms. "So it really was Cait Sith! Damn cat! Well, sorry 'bout the way we treated you."  
Verna furrowed her eyebrows together. Cait Sith must have been Reeve's puppet. She didn't say anything about the manager. Barrett must have not known who Cait Sith really was. She'd rather not cause any trouble for Reeve. After all, Reeve was pretty much the only manager that didn't want to kill Verna.

"Now, if you could keep me being here quiet," Verna put her hand on the door. "The only ones that know about me being here is Rufus, the Turks and the guy who controls Cait Sith."

"You know who it is!?" Barrett took a step forward. "Tell me!"

Verna laughed quietly, "I can't tell you who he is, but you'll need to trust him for something that's about to happen."

"What's going to happen?! Tell me!" Verna left the room. "Damn it!"

Verna put her hood back on and walked out of the building. She wrinkled her nose at the smell. Junon wasn't the most pleasant place. It smelt like rotting fish that weren't supposed to die due to fishing. Sighing, she kept on walking to the airstrip.

Once she tried to get on the Highwind, she was stopped. Verna smiled slightly and removed her hood. The man who stopped her moved to the side and ushered her in. He looked around to make sure no one was watching and got back to his post.

Verna glanced around the control area only to be tackled into a hug. Verna stiffened at someone invading her personal space. She quickly pushed them away. The person fell to the ground and muttered an ow.

"What was that for, Verna!?" Verna looked down seeing Yuffie pouting.

"Ya tackled her, so ya asked for it!" A man pulled out a cigarette from his mouth. "Name's Cid. Welcome to the Highwind. It's under new management!"

Verna grinned, "Cait Sith told me all about it. Congrats Captain." Verna looked around, "Where's Aerith…?"

The atmosphere dropped to subzero temperatures. Verna gulped, she asked the wrong questioned. Cid sighed and took out a cigarette. He turned his back to her.

"You told her 'bout me becoming captain, but you didn't tell her about Aerith?"

"I couldn't bring myself to tell her!" Cait Sith hugged onto the robot he controlled.

Verna's eyes widened upon realization. She looked down at her feet. The flower girl was gone. She could only imagine that Sephiroth was the one behind her death. Sighing, Verna gave her condolences to the team of rebels.

"Let's not worry 'bout it," Cid put his cigarette out. "We just need to worry 'bout getting Tifa and Barrett out of the Shin-Ra's grasps."

Verna nodded her head, "Rufus and I have a plan." She took out a scroll out of her shirt and unrolled it. "Scarlet's wanting the entire world to see the execution. This being said it'll make it easier to get into the room if a couple of us pretend to be news reporters."

"Oh! I want to be a news reporter!" Yuffie jumped up and down.

Verna grinned, "You'll be the one outside. Cait Sith will be in a disguise waiting just outside the gas chamber. You'll be on the lookout for WEAPON and be there for backup."

"Sounds good to me!" Yuffie grinned.

"I'll be wearing this disguise and follow Scarlet into the gas chamber. When we leave the room I'll just so happen to drop the key within Tifa's grasp. She'll be able to get it and free herself and turn off the gass. Cait Sith will gas Scarlet and render her unconscious. I'll take out the other soldiers with Barrett's help."

"What about annoying laugh guy?" Cid questioned.

"Rufus will be distracting him. He'll also be on the lookout for WEAPON. The Turks will be nearby in case there's a situation that we can't get out of. When everyone is out you'll all board the Highwind and get the hell out of here. If something goes wrong and we can't get Tifa out of the gas chamber we'll have the Highwind get her out."

"Hey, if you think I'm going to damage this air ship for one moment you're wrong!"  
"The Highwind is loaded with you bunch. I'm sure with the help of some Materia you'll be able to break her out. Sound better?"

"Hmph."

"What will we do while we wait here?" A man with a red cape questioned – he was at Rocket Town.

"Fight off any of Shin-Ra's men that try to get on board," Verna nodded her head. "If they're wearing a soldier's uniform don't hesitate to take them out."

"Well, what about you?" It was Yuffie's turn to start asking questions.

"I won't be going with you guys," She grinned. "Besides, I still have some unanswered questions and I have to make sure nothing goes wrong once you guys leave. Anything else? I need to get back."

"Why is the Shin-Ra suddenly helping us?" The man with the red cape inquired – she later learned his name was Vincent Valentine.

Verna smiled, "The President knows that you're trying to help. At this point, with Meteor and WEAPON, he needs all the help he can get. It's his managers that are causing all the issues."

"Hey!" Cait Sith stood up.

Verna smirked, "Besides you, but way to let them you're a manager. That just narrows down the possibilities." Verna sighed and waved, "See you guys later. Good luck. We have six days until the execution."

Verna knocked on a metal door before it opened. She saluted to the man in front of her. He looked at her with a blank expression. She kept her stance seeing how long this little game could go on.

"Just get in here," He spoke not playing along.

Verna frowned slightly and walked into the bedroom. Dark Nation was lying on the bed sound asleep. The room had a calm atmosphere to it. It reminded her from when she used to live with her mother and father. Everything was peaceful and there wasn't a worry in the world. Of course, things were changing.

Verna looked over at the window. The curtains were shut. It was to block out the reminder of Meteor. It blocked out the reminder that Shin-Ra Electric Power Company was somewhat responsible for this catastrophe. Now, the president of this said company sat on the bed with his head in his hands.

Immediately Verna sat next to him, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I failed."

Verna narrowed her eyes, "You didn't fail."

"Yes, I did," Rufus looked up at her. His eyes were blood shot.

"When was the last time you got some sleep?" Verna questioned concerned. She was sure he didn't cry.

"I don't remember," He mumbled. The bags under his eyes were becoming more pronounced the more Verna looked at him.

"Well, get some sleep now," Verna urged him, but he didn't budge.

"I still have so much work to do. I have to come up with a plan to stop the execution, to stop WEAPON, and to stop Meteor."

"You already came up with a plan to stop the execution," Verna laughed half-heartedly. "It's already in action, so you can check that off your list. When AVALANCHE is free we can have them go after WEAPON and we can focus on Meteor, okay?"

"Hn," Rufus groaned as his eyes threatened to shut. "Alright…"

Verna smiled and pushed him down onto the bed gently, "Now get some sleep. Dark Nation will keep you company." She looked over at the peaceful panther. "You'll think more clearly once your brain has had a time to restore itself." She stood up from her spot and covered Rufus with the covers. "Night."

She turned around to leave, but a hand suddenly gripped onto hers. She looked down seeing Rufus's hand holding onto her tightly, but not so tight to leave a mark. Her eyes trailed up the arm and to his face, his eyes were closed, but he was still awake.

"Stay…" He fought the sleep just to whisper it. "Please…"

Verna nodded silently with a small blush and crawled into the bed next to him. He held onto her tightly and his breathing slowed down. He finally fell asleep. Verna laid there quietly as she listened to his breathing and heartbeat slowly. Her eyes shut as warmth enveloped her. She was slowly but surely falling for him as she was slowly falling asleep.

-A/N—

So you know how I had a fever when I was writing chapter 23? Well, it was kind of weird when I got it. Because at first I was totally happy, just playing some Final Fantasy VII, but then I just suddenly felt like crap and I suddenly had a fever. It was so unexpected! I figured out why, though. Right when Hojo entered the screen I just felt horrible! So I blame that evil son of a bitch for making me sick!


	26. Chapter 26

The blinds were open when she slipped into the room. She looked away from the horrific sight. She looked away from the calamity falling from the sky. They didn't have that much time, but they were going everything they could to prevent. Verna only hoped that they had just enough time to stop Meteor.

"Are you feeling alright, Tifa?" Verna questioned as she played with the key in her pocket. "You were out for a long time. People were starting to get worried."

Tifa turned around quickly from Verna's voice. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Verna was still wearing her disguise. She couldn't remove it either. Scarlet or Heidegger would come in soon to retrieve the prisoners. Today was the execution.

"Who are you?" Tifa questioned.

Barrett looked over, "It's Verna." He glanced at Verna, "I still don't understand why you haven't gotten us out if you don't work with the Shin-Ra."

Verna smiled slightly, "You'll be getting out today and hopefully it'll stay that way." Her eyes darted towards the door that opened. She stiffened her back and saluted, "Sir!"

"At ease, soldier," Rufus stated in a monotone voice. He glanced over at Tifa and Barrett and then at the window. "Meteor will hit soon. The people are growing restless. You do realize what that means, don't you? Someone has to take the blame for it."

Barrett growled, "It's all because of you and your damn company!"

"You're the ones who gave Sephiroth the Black Materia," Rufus replied simply. "Therefore, you must be the ones who are going to be executed today. Tie them up."

Barrett ran forward about to hit Rufus. Verna leapt in his way and held him back. She struggled to get his hands behind his back before she bound his wrists. Tifa didn't resist at all, a dead look was in her eyes. Verna frowned and began to lead them out.

"Trust me, Barrett," Verna whispered to him. "Everything will be fine."

Barrett ignored her as he kept on walking. Resistance was futile. Rufus stayed behind to keep an eye on Heidegger. Any interference could put the mission in jeopardy. In turn that could result in the death of Tifa and Barrett.

When they entered the execution press room cameras began to flash. Verna winced at the bright lights, but kept on walking. She stopped when she was next to Scarlet who let out a laugh. She was enjoying this a little too much. The sadistic bitch.

"Today we will see the fall of the terrorist organization known as AVALANCHE!"

In Verna's mind the newspaper story ran. She figured out what she would write.

_Shin-Ra Electric Power Company deemed the organization known as AVALANCHE to be terrorists. AVALANCHE fought to protect Gaia after evidence that showed that using the lifestream as an energy source killed the planet. The agents of Gaia were now being damned to execution._

_ Shin-Ra claimed that not only were their "terrorist" acts heinous, but they claimed that they were the ones responsible for Meteor and the recent attacks of WEAPON. Through further digging, I came to find evidence that showed that Shin-Ra Electric Power Company was the one responsible for these catastrophic events._

"They will be executed first," Scarlet smirked as she walked up to Tifa. Her head was hung down. "Stuck up as ever!" Scarlet slapped Tifa across the face. She didn't do anything to stop her. "I'll be looking to killing you first."

"Wait! If you gotta do it kill me first!" Barrett stomped his feet. Several soldiers had to restrain him.

"Hmph," Scarlet forced Tifa into the execution room with Verna close behind.

Scarlet looked at the area with awe before she slammed Tifa into the chair that would bind her. She restrained Tifa's wrists gleefully before she pressed the button that allowed the gas to expel from the vents. Scarlet walked out quickly. Verna glanced at Tifa and dropped the key just within her reach. Smirking, Verna exited the chamber and stood outside.

_In a desperate attempt to get the blame off of themselves, two managers, Scarlet and Heidegger, demanded the execution of Tifa and Barrett of AVALANCHE. President Rufus Shinra disagreed with the course of action, but they betrayed him and went along with it. The true heroes emerged during this time._

_ Other members of AVALANCHE joined forces with President Rufus Shinra, the Turks and another manager to save Tifa and Barrett from certain death. They planned for six days to make sure nothing wrong could go happen. Though, unforeseen events came forth._

"Attention! Attention! WEAPON is approaching and is getting ready to attack Junon!" The intercom played alongside with an alarm.

_WEAPON attacked Junon. This unforeseen event only made it easier for AVALANCE to escape and would prevent any bystanders to get hurt as -_

News reporters screamed and evacuated the area. Verna watched with some alarm and remained in her place. She noticed someone in a large trench coat. She smirked, it was Cait Sith. If anything the sudden attack was making things go by smoother.

"You're rather brave for staying here," Scarlet walked up to Cait Sith.

"And you're rather brave for walking up to me!" Cait Sith sounded and sprayed a gas into Scarlet face.

She coughed and collapsed onto the ground. Verna removed her hood with a smirk and walked over to Cait Sith. Barrett watched in alarm at what was going on. He then broke free of his restraints and banged on Tifa's door, trying to pry it open.

Verna watched, hopefully Tifa already unlocked herself, but the sounds of it she hasn't. Verna ran over and pushed Barret to the side so she could try and communicate with her.

"I dropped a key on the ground, Tifa!" Verna shouted. "Unlock yourself and press the button to stop the gas from getting in! You better hurry up before WEAPON gets here!"

"That voice," Scarlet coughed as she fought to stay conscious. "You're…"

Verna walked over to Scarlet and smiled sadistically down at her, "The newspaper girl? How exactly do you know who I am? It's not like we've ever met…Except for when you were at Gongaga and totally missed a summoning materia. But you didn't see me."

"You mean you're not Jane…?" Scarlet coughed.

"Sorry, who?" Verna shrugged and walked away from her. She bit her lip. That was a close one.

"Let's go! We need to get to the air strip!" Cait Sith alarmed them.

"But Tifa!" Barrett shouted.

"Just trust us!" Cait Sith ran off with the pair of them close behind.

Cait Sith quickly led them out of the building and towards the airstrip. A girl with a microphone ran after them. Verna grinned, it must have been Yuffie. She glanced up at the observation room and looked at Rufus who was currently looking down at them. She nodded and kept running with them.

They stopped when they were in front of the aircraft. Barrett stopped and motioned Verna to get on when he noticed multiple soldiers chasing after them. She shook her head and stepped back. She started walking back to the soldiers. She had to fight them off so the rest of them could go and get Tifa. She raised her sleeve as her arm began to glow.

"Better go, things are about to get messy!" Verna closed her eyes and prayed to the lifestream quietly.

_After Barrett escaped he, and two other members of AVALANCHE, made their way to the Highwind – a Shin-Ra aircraft. Soldiers made their way towards them, threatening to sabotage the entire mission._

She swung her arm forward and a summoning circle formed. Wind burst through it as a giant emerged from the circle. He stood and punched his hands together. His eyes were white as was his hair. The rest of him was a dark tan. It was Titan. He glanced back at Verna awaiting orders.

"Take care of the soldiers and cover me," Verna took out the gun that Rufus kindly returned to her before the mission. "Unlike you I can actually die."

She removed the safety lock and began firing. Multiple soldiers fell to the ground when they received a wound to the leg. Titan smashed his fist into the ground and sent a large tremor towards the soldiers. They screamed and fell. Some of them were buried by some of the rubble. It only took a matter of moment before all of the soldiers were gone, mostly thanks to Titan.

"Thanks," Verna nodded towards Titan who then disappeared in a summoning circle.

She glanced around and quickly ran off into Junon. Rufus told her to go to a restaurant there. It was a place that the Turks frequented and they'd provide her with another disguise. Verna had to wonder exactly what kind of disguise she'd be forced to wear this time. All she knew was that she hoped it had a mask.

_They escaped with the help of a rogue soldier that joined their side. Tifa managed to escape after WEAPON so kindly blast a hole in her chamber. The future of Shin-Ra Electric Power Company is now blurry as it becomes divided from the inside. All that can be certain is that President Rufus Shinra is doing his best to ensure the safety of his planet despite the recent betrayal of his two managers._

-A/N—

Prom is today~! And I'm writing fan-fiction. I'll be wearing my "Sephiroth" dress with my mask~! God I'm such a nerd…There was something about FFVII I wanted to say…OH!

So yesterday we had a prom pep assembly. Naturally I don't ditch, because I'm terrified of getting in trouble. They were announcing the royalty and when they got to this one guy he was being escorted by his friends wearing suits and they had the ear pieces an everything. It was hilarious! Sad thing was I thought it was the Turks before I realized it was the American secret service. -_- I. Need. A. Life.


	27. Chapter 27

A man stood outside. He was leaning against a brick wall that appeared to lead into an ally way. It appeared to be a shady place. He was the mark that indicated that she was at the right place. Verna gulped and walked up to him.

"Heads I'm a Turk and you're the doctor, tails I'm the doctor and you're the Turk. Sound fair, babe?" He spoke calmly as he flipped and caught the coin. He then slammed it onto the top of his hand.

Verna leaned in curiously. If she was the doctor she could wear a medical mask to hide her face. It was heads. She silently cheered as the man sighed to himself. He motioned for her to follow her into the ally way. They appeared in front of the door. The man opened the door and ushered Verna inside.

Cigarette smoke filled the air – a health hazard in her mind. Another man was polishing a glass as a few men were playing cards. He placed a box onto the counter which caused the men playing cards to glance up.

One of the men with cards placed them down and he adjusted his hat. He grinned up at Verna and was followed by a taller man with sunglasses – it was Reno and Rude. Rude took out some bills and threw it onto the table that they were playing cards at, they must have lost. The men continued playing cards and drank liquor as they did so.

"Hey, Verna," Reno spoke as he grabbed the box and walked down stairs. "Come on."

Reno, Rude, Verna and the guy tossing the coin walked down a hidden stair case. At the bottom they came to a hallway. Reno knocked on a door. It opened with Elena behind the door she grinned, but flung to the side.

"Woah!" Reno ducked as a knife hit the wall behind him.

Verna watched wide eye. She slowly glanced at the knife that wasn't even a half a foot in front of her. Gulping she watched as a woman walked out and took the knife from out of the wall. She glanced back at Verna and rolled her eyes before she walked back in.

"Shiva, Knife!" Reno shouted at her as he walked in and dropped the box onto the ground. "What was that for?"

"The dart board is on the door," She replied simply as she played with a few knives in her hand. "The door opened when I threw it." She glanced up, "Now don't hang out in the hallway, get in here, you lot!"

The remaining three walked into the room cautiously. Verna looked around. So this was the hide out for the Turks? It wasn't bad. It was fairly spacious. There weapons everywhere, which caused Verna to question exactly what goes on in here.

"Legend, who's wearing what?" Elena questioned as she took out some clothes from the box.

"I'm going as a Turk," He sighed. "Can't even wear a disguise, I'm just going as my regular self. Verna's going as a doctor."

Verna walked over to the box and examined the clothes, "You don't by chance have a medical mask in there?"

"Right here!" Elena threw her one. "You can get dressed in the bathroom."

"Thanks," Verna smiled at the blonde Turk and grabbed her clothes before changing.

She glanced down at the name tag that was already on the uniform. Verna smirked ever so slightly. Samantha Hertson was printed on the name tag. So Rufus was the one who set up the uniform, how very amusing.

"Alright, I'm ready," Verna stated. Her voice was slightly muffled from behind the medical mask.

"Here," The Turk, dubbed Legend, handed her a bag. "You'll have to act the part. In it are some potions, phoenix downs, ethers and bandages. Here's a cure materia, just in case."

"Thanks," Verna took the materia and allowed it to fuse with her arm. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to get on a helicopter back at base," Legend placed a few bombs in his coat. Verna glanced around and gulped as she realized everyone was checking their weapons.

"Are we expecting company?" She questioned.

"Another WEAPON could be on its way, but we're more worried about the civilians attacking," Rude answered as he adjusted his gloves.

"I see…" Verna sighed.

"Come on, let's not waste any more daylight," Knife urged them all as she walked out. "The President is waiting for us. He just called a few minutes ago saying he has a plan to stop Meteor."

Verna glanced up as she shifted the bag of medical supplies on her shoulder. So Rufus had a plan…? She couldn't help but smile. He's been trying to think of something ever since the Meteor was summoned.

Legend went out first. His hand was placed firmly on what looked like a smoke bomb as he led Verna and the other Turks through multiple alley ways. He kept on glancing back and forth, making sure no one was following them.

"There's a helicopter!" Legend pointed ahead of them. "The President will be meeting us there. It's too dangerous to stay here. We'll be leaving Junon."

Verna nodded her head. It was a bit of a distance away, still. She smiled slightly when she noticed that Rufus was making his way to the helicopter with Dark Nation close behind him. The girl held in an "awe" at the sight of the black panther.

"Look out!" Knife shouted.

Gun fire went off and time slowed down. Verna's eyes widened. Rufus glanced back. He fell to the ground. Tears built up in her eyes. He was shot. Her heart nearly stopped when Rufus was presumably dead on the ground. She looked at Dark Nation run forward and bared his teeth. He clamped down onto the gunman's neck that shot the bullet. She directed her attention back to the fallen president.

"Rufus!" Verna screamed as she ran ahead of the Turks.

She opened her bag ready to try and help, even if she had very little medical knowledge. She fell to her knees next to him and pushed him so he was lying on his back. Verna fought back tears as her eyes examined him for a wound, but there wasn't one.

"Is the gunman gone?" Rufus whispered as he opened his eyes.

"What?" Verna knitted her eyebrows together in confusion and she gave a small sniff.

"Is he down?"

Verna glanced over to the Turks pulling Dark Nation off the man. The gunman was dead or would be soon from a collapsed air way or from blood lost. Verna looked away from the gruesome sight and to Rufus before nodding her head.

"Good," Rufus stood up and dust himself off. He looked down at Verna and held his hand out, "Let's get out of here before they try to assassinate me again."

Verna looked at his hand, "You weren't shot…?"

"No," Rufus moved some hair out of his face. "I fell down to make it look like I was in case he fired again. You have to be prepared for anything and have every step you'll make in different situations in my position." He moved his hand impatiently, "Let's go."

Verna stood up on her own and slapped him across the face, "Don't ever do that again!"

Rufus held his cheek and his eyes were wide from shock. He glanced over to Verna. Tears streamed down her face as she looked down at the ground. Her shoulder shook as she tried to cry silently, but small sobs still managed to escape. If he could see her mouth – it was still covered by the medical mask – he was positive she would be biting her lip.

"Verna…?" Rufus spoke quietly as he reached a hand out towards her.

Verna looked up at him angrily, her cheeks red, "You can't just do that! You can't die and leave me here, because I lov—"

"Don't mean to interrupt," Reno walked over and opened the door to the helicopter, "But there are some more civilians coming and they could just put a bullet through your head, sir."

Rufus nodded and ushered Verna inside the helicopter before him. He glanced at Dark Nation and motioned his head to jump in. Rufus climbed into the helicopter. The door closed once Rude, Elena and Reno were in. Knife and Legend were staying behind to keep an eye on Junon.

Rufus glanced over to Verna who was hugging Dark Nation. He then questioned, "What were you saying?"

Verna shook her head and whispered, "It's nothing."

-A/N—

I just discovered Electric Swing music and oh my goodness. I can't stop listening to it. _ Here's a link to one of the songs that's a Hetalia err…AMV?:

/yqNDO-CoKgE

Anyways, I'm signing up for my college classes today. =D I hope to take College Mathematics (bleh), Into to Dinosaurs, Western Civilizations, Tai Chi, Yoga and Relaxation, Three Dimensional Design, and Mythology. By the end of my first semester in college I'll have about 30 credits (AP Classes). XD

And I figured that Verna has been staying with Rufus for quite a while…I think… o_o' So it's okay if they've formed a close bond…Let me look up the timeline for the game, if not just imagine it's been awhile. Ah, so a couple of months maybe…Mmm…What's realistic ? *never have had a boyfriend, doesn't know* TT_TT


	28. Chapter 28

"Now then…We're faced with two issues. 1 Destroy Meteor. 2 Remove the barrier around North Cave and defeat Sephiroth. Any ideas?" Rufus glanced at his worthless managers of which were sitting. The only useful one was standing in a corner.

"Gya haah ha ha! The first problem's already solved!" Heidegger practically shouted. "Meteor will soon be smashed to bits! The plan is already in motion. We are collecting Huge Materia from each region."

"What?" Rufus narrowed his eyes. This was different from his original plan.

Scarlet walked into the room, "Huge Materia is a high-density, special type of Materia made through a special compression process in Mako reactors. The energy extracted from it is 330 times the strength of normal Materia." Scarlet gave out a laugh, "How about that? We will gather all the Huge Materia together and ram it into Meteor. That will cause a huge explosion, reducing Meteor literally to bits!"

Rufus crosses his arms, "You're going to ram Meteor? Do you think we have the technology to do it?"

"First things first!" Scarlet crossed her arms as well. "Right now, we've got to collect Huge Materia from each area."

Heidegger spoke up, "We've already collected Matera from Nibelheim. All that's left are Corel and Fort Condor. I've already dispatched troops to Corel." He gave out a loud laugh. This certainly wasn't what he had in mind. But it seemed as if he had no choice but to go with it.

"How'd it go?" Verna looked up at Rufus as he walked into the mansion in Midgar. She was currently sitting on the stairs typing with Dark Nation at her feet.

"Not how I expected it. They already have a plan in action, I can't say I'm confident that it's going to work, but there's nothing I can do now," Rufus spoke as he moved some hair out of his face. His eyes landed on something next to Verna, "Did the article about AVALANCHE escaping get published?"

"It's going out tomorrow," Verna grinned and handed it to him. "My boss sent this to me. At the end I mocked Heidegger telling him I was there. Pretty awesome, isn't it?"  
Rufus nodded slowly, "He's going to be angry when he reads this tomorrow."

"Good," Verna closed the lid of her laptop and stood up. "So what was your plan anyways?"

Rufus shook his head and moved some hair out of his face, "It's not important now. I'll have it set up, just in case."

A flash illuminated the sky. People screamed thinking that Meteor was finally hitting Gaia. When the light subdued people looked up. Sobs were heard everywhere. The attempt to destroy Meteor failed miserably. If anything Meteor was just more furious. Things were becoming hopeless.

Verna looked out the window of the tower of Midgar. She frowned. She could only hope that Rufus's plan would work. If it didn't people only had a few days of living left. She looked down to the floor. She was relying on Rufus a tad too much.

"And here I am being useless," She whispered to herself. "What good have I been? I've only caused trouble…"

"Are you afraid?" Verna looked behind her to see Rufus entering the room. He stared out the window of his office.

"What?" Verna was slightly taken aback.

"Are you afraid of what will happen?" His eyes examined Meteor as it began descended upon Gaia.

Verna looked back out the window, "I think everyone is. Those who are partying are doing it because they're afraid to leave this planet with regrets. Those who are going into hiding are scared of dying and want to fight for their chance to survive." And then Verna paused as a distant look glazed over her eyes. "And there are those who are trying to stop Meteor and Sephiroth. They are the most afraid."  
Rufus looked over at her, he fell into that category, "What do you mean?"  
Verna crossed her arms, "They might be afraid of dying…But I think they're more afraid of letting someone they know and care about die. They're more afraid that they'll never get the chance to see them again, or they're afraid of losing what they've worked so hard to build. You've worked hard for your company and you're probably scared of losing it."  
Rufus looked back over to the window and let her words sink in. He allowed the words to echo off of his ear drums. What she said held some truth in it. In fact, he already came to terms with his impending death. However, he hasn't come to terms with his workers dying. He hasn't come to terms with AVALANCHE dying – though he hated them, he didn't deny that what they were doing was for the best.

"I am afraid," He spoke. "There's someone that I don't want to lose."

Verna looked up at him sadly, "I see…" She looked back to the window – it wouldn't be her. She was just a stupid newspaper girl that caused more trouble.

"I don't want you to die," Rufus spoke softly.

Verna felt her heart leap. She looked up at him seeing his gaze was on her. She took a tentative step towards him before she wrapped her arms around his torso. He responded by wrapping his own arms around her.

"I love you," He spoke into the top of her head.

"Mmm," Verna nodded. "I love you, too."

The two stayed in an embrace. The office was illuminated only by their impending doom. Meteor would hit Gaia in only a matter of days.

-A/N—

I think I have pretty much everything the game here…I did leave out some parts with AVALNCHE, but hey…I want to finish this story soon. I mean…There will be at least 30 chapters just for the game. I'm debating whether or not I want to go into Advent Children, or if I want to change the entire happenings with Rufus and what happens in the next chapter. We shall see~! You decide! Comment if you want me to go into Advent Children. And Chapter 29 is finished~!


	29. Chapter 29

Rufus looked at the girl before him. He kept an indifferent face while looking down at her. He knew what he had to do, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her what was going to happen to him. The man leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheeks. He moved back and spoke softly.

"I'll meet you in a restaurant in Kalm tonight," Rufus examined her. He motioned for Reeve to walk over. "Reeve will take you there, alright?"

"I'll see you there then," Verna replied with her cheeks dusted a pink hue.

"Take Dark Nation with you," Rufus spoke before she walked away.

Verna paused and nodded. Dark Nation walked after her. The panther looked over at his master as if knowing what was going to happen. Rufus stared emotionlessly at him and nodded for Dark Nation to follow Verna. The panther obeyed.

The president in the white suit watched her leave. He took in all he could. Her auburn hair flowed behind her. She wore a breezy skirt that stopped just below her knees – something that he didn't really ever see her wear. The man watched her until she disappeared from his view.

Rufus turned away and sat down at his desk. His head was buried in his hands. He was prepared for what was going to happen, but he didn't want to let her go. The man looked up and to the phone on his desk. He'd get some closure.

"Hello," Rufus spoke. "I would like a place an order for a bouquet to be delivered tonight. I'd like to throw in a special request with this as well…" He paused, "I'm Rufus Shinra, make it happen." He paused once more, "I'd like a note to be attached to it."  
After a few minutes of speaking, Rufus Shinra placed the phone down and stood up. He looked at the cannon that was transferred from Junon to Midgar. He took a deep breath in. He wondered if he would be able to see his mother again. He wondered if that in the lifestream he'd even remain conscious of who he was. He doubted it, but he still held hope.

"It's still not too late to run," Rufus whispered to himself. "But if I did that then I would be a coward who couldn't take responsibility for his company's mistakes. Who would think that this would be the end of me?"

The man lingered in his office until it was time. It was at night. He closed his eyes as he realized that Verna probably received the note. It pained him greatly that she would have to read it, but it had to be done.

The man walked to the window of his office. The canon moved. The Huge Materia was starting to activate. He looked up at the lights as they turned off to fuel the canon. He moved back to his desk and gripped the sides as the canon gained power. This was it.

He took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. Even if he did accept what was going to happen, but he couldn't help but feel anxious – maybe even scared. Rufus closed his eyes as he went over everything that he's accomplished.

He saved the Turks from certain death and secured their future with Shin-Ra. In turn they've remained loyal to him and not Heidegger.

Verna took a seat at the restaurant. She held her wrap to her body to cover up the skin that her dress revealed – she changed into the dress when she arrived in Kalm. She glanced at the menu and read over what she wanted to eat. Rufus hadn't shown up yet, but Reeve was kind enough to stay with her until he did.

He had Sephiroth kill his father after his father blew Sector 7 up – it was an unforgivable act.

She shifted in her seat as she glanced around. It's been ten minutes since Reeve said that Rufus would be there, she was starting to get worried. Trying to calm her nerves she took a sip of her water.

He became president of Shin-Ra Electric Power Company.

Verna glanced out the window. There was a brilliant view of Shin-Ra Electric Power Company's tower in Midgar. Above it was Meteor. She wasn't as worried about it anymore. Rufus said he had a plan to stop it.

He stopped one of the WEAPONS.

Verna glanced over to a person who approached the table. He asked if her name was Verna. She nodded and was handed a bouquet. A note fell onto her lap as the man walked away quickly. Frowning, Verna took the note and took it out of the envelope. Tears fell from her eyes as her lip quivered.

He solved the mystery to who the newspaper girl was.

The cannon shot. A sound of a screeching hit his ears. Only when he thought of the last item did his eyes open widely. There was an incoming attack from WEAPON. He felt pain.

He fell in love in the newspaper girl.

Her head snapped to the building. A fiery explosion took its place. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her mind was trying to comprehend exactly what just happened.

Once she came to realization she felt her heart leap out of her rib cage. If only it did in a literal sense, then she wouldn't have to feel the numbing feeling that encompassed her entire being. Verna slowly stood up and her feet stumbled towards the window as she watched the ashes fall to the sky. The once great tower of Shin-Ra Electric Power Company blew up. Rufus was in that building.

"Rufus!" Verna wailed as she tried to run forward, but was held back by a pair of strong arms.

Her breathing quickened as she started to hyperventilate. She was having a panic attack. Her arms shook as she covered her face. Tears ran freely down her face. She tried to hide the pain that was coursing through her body, but her shaking shoulders gave it away.

Reeve – who held her back – loosened his grip, allowing Verna to fall to the ground to the ground. She gave out uncontrollable sobs. He was in the building when it blew up. He was in the building when WEAPON attacked. And now Rufus was in the building, dead.

Next to her lied the note.

_Verna,_

_ When we first met I must assure you I was furious. Not only had the Tiny Bronco escaped, but one of my managers was hit by a semi-truck, no thanks to you. I arrested you and wanted to deal with you myself. I had to get answers out of you; I had to locate the source of the newspaper. I suppose I never did accomplish in doing that. I did accomplish something else._

_ I found the mysterious newspaper girl. I fell in love with the mysterious newspaper girl. Unfortunately, I can't meet this mysterious newspaper girl for dinner today. Nor can I meet her tomorrow, or any day after that. This is because I won't be here anymore._

_ Today I will die. The cannon will fire and I'm nearly positive that this will result in my death. I have already accepted that I will die today, but I haven't accepted that I will be leaving you. I am hoping that this will provide some closure and perhaps some comfort._

_ Dark Nation is now yours. You always did seem to like him, and him you. As for my company I doubt there will be anything left of it. The people will most likely destroy it after all that has happened. Scarlet, Heidegger and Palmer won't be after you anymore. I've already taken care of them. No one should be after your newspaper company either._

_ Live your life. Do what makes you happy. You better not join the lifestream until you're at least eighty._

_ Love now and forever,_

_ Rufus Shinra_


	30. Chapter 30

"Verna," Reeve knelt down to the girl who was sitting silently on the floor. Her tears were dried up, "Let me take you home…"

Verna stood up by herself and whispered, "I'm going to my uncle's place…You don't need to take me…" She looked at the bearded man, "I need to do something things anyway…I always was useless." The girl looked down at her hands and clenched them, fighting back some tears, "But I want to be of some use." She looked up at Reeve with determination, "Rufus said that his company was going to be destroyed after…What happened to him. I'm not going to let that happen."

She grabbed her purse – which was more of a messenger bag – and walked past Reeve. Dark Nation followed her steps closely. Verna walked with confidence. Her initial grief was gone; she'd mourn Rufus's death later. Now, she had a mission that had to be carried out.

"What are you going to do?" Reeve turned to Verna with curiosity.

Verna stopped in her tracks, "You just worry about defeat Sephiroth and stopping Meteor for now, Reeve." She moved some hair out of her face, "Once AVALANCHE has done that go to Junon and gain the people's trust. I'll get the Turks to evacuate Midgar, it's not safe there anymore." She smirked slightly, "And then I'll use the paper to trust Shin-Ra and place the blame on the other managers."

"You could place the blame on Hojo," Reeve crossed his arms. "He was the one who created Sephiroth."

"What?" Verna narrowed her eyes.

"He's his father that okayed the experiments to be conducted on his own son," Reeve began to explain. "He performed an experiment on Cloud which resulted in Cloud giving the Black Materia on Sephiroth. He's also the one conducting experiments on Jenova. He's the reason why everything is such a huge mess."

"I see…" Verna sighed. "Getting a scientist like him mad at me might not be in my best interest, though."  
"Oh, we believe he's dead. He's been missing for a while, so there shouldn't be a problem.."

"Perfect," Verna nodded. She turned to face him, "Best of luck, Reeve. I hope we see each other again."

Verna walked out of the restaurant with Dark Nation close behind her. The panther kept an eye on her. He was worried about her mental state. He could sense that she was extremely unstable on the inside, but was keeping up a tough façade on the inside.

Verna held her thumb out as she began walking to Midgar. She needed to get to her uncle's place before she could do anything. A truck drove by, but soon stopped. Verna looked at it and ran over, Dark Nation loyally with her.

A weak smile made its way onto her face, "Seems like I'm getting a ride off of you again, huh?"

"Looks like it," It was the doctor that took Verna to Rocket Town. "You goin' to Midgar?"

"Sure am," Verna nodded. "I hope you don't mind, but I have company with me this time."

The man leaned a little to see Dark Nation and put his cigarette out, "Well, get in. I don't mind if ya have your pet with you."

"Thanks," Verna climbed into the truck, but only after Dark Nation jumped in. "Why are you going to Midgar?"

"I need some medical supplies for my practice," He spoke simply. "You?"

"I have a company to keep alive and a newspaper to write for," Verna replied vaguely and glanced out to the scenery that was speeding by.

An hour later and the trio made its way to Midgar. Verna hopped out of the truck with Dark Nation and attempted to pay the doctor. He simply shook his head and drove off leaving a small cloud of exhaust.

Verna coughed and waved it away before turning to face a house. She was at her uncle's. The girl walked up to it cautiously and knocked on the wooden door. After a few moments footsteps were heard and the door opened.

"Verna!" It was her plump uncle. "My goodness it's been awhile!" He ushered her in, "It haven't talked to you since a little bit before you published that news article when AVALANCHE was in Rocket Town. What happened?"

Verna looked down, "I couldn't really talk to you. I was staying with the President, and I didn't want to jeopardize the newspaper." She felt a lump build up in her throat, "And well…He's…Dead."

Her uncle narrowed his eyes at her reaction, "Go and sit down, I'll get you some tea."

Verna sat down onto the couch when he walked away. She grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it, trying to push the memories back. Dark Nation laid by her feet and kept an eye out on the world. The panther raised its head when Verna's uncle returned. He gave a small growl.

"It seems like your pet doesn't like me," Her uncle placed a cup of tea on the coffee table. "When did you get him?"

Verna looked up at him, "Rufus just gave him to me in a letter I received right before he died…"

"Were you to in a relationship or something?" Her uncle questioned somewhat hesitantly.

Verna looked to the side, "You could say that…" She sighed and took a sip of her tea, "And now his company will be destroyed by the people. If I could use the newspaper to try and put the blame on not the company, but someone else then that would be perfect. The company wouldn't be destroyed and it would have a chance of running again."

"But who would run it?" Her uncle questioned. "It is there fault, isn't it?"

"Not entirely," Verna pursed her lips together. "It's Heidegger, Scarlet, Palmer and Hojo. They're the problems. Reeve could run the company. He'd be the one most suited to do so. He cares about what happens to the world, and he's responsible. We'll just have to make sure Heidegger doesn't assume control."

Verna placed her cup back onto the table, "But first we need to evacuate Midgar. Does your friend who work at Shin-Ra have any contacts with the Turks? I need them to get people out of here."

"I'll look into it," Her uncle stood up and began to walk to where the phone was.

"Uncle…" Verna started, "Do you know anything about my father?"

Her uncle paused, "Let's focus on this first."

"You tell your friend to get everyone to evacuate Midgar," Verna stood up. "There's something I need to do."

-A/N—

Sorry it's taken a while to post this chapter. I've had to work on my AP portfolio for 2D design, and I've had to study for my AP Stat test and AP Psychology test.

Anyways! I want to get a tattoo, but I'm worried that since my frontal lobe isn't fully developed I'll be making a reckless decision. If I were to get one I'd probably get it on my shoulder blade and it'd probably be this one: fs45/f/2009/135/8/6/Final_Fantasy_7_Tattoo_Concept _by_ . I have played the game since I was two or three, so I don't think I'd regret getting a FF7 tattoo…What do you guys think?


	31. Chapter 31

People were scrambling everywhere. They were attempting to get away from the falling debris that came from Shin-Ra's tower. Some sought refuge under the plates of the sectors, but many of the plates threatened to collapse in the sunless city. There were two people in particular that were scrambling, but they weren't seeking shelter.

Verna held her gun close to her as she watched the pair. It was a bearded male and a female that was barely clothed in clothes. It was the two managers that had previously sought out revenge against the newspaper girl. It was Heidegger and Scarlet.

Quietly and swiftly, Verna followed them, dodging flaming debris. She held her gun close to herself as she followed the two managers that were attempting to rule the company. Her eyes watched them like that of a hungry panther. Speaking of panthers, Dark Nation followed loyally by her side.

The two managers stopped in front of a mechanical robot. Just as they were about to examine it, Verna flicked her chin forwards toward Dark Nation. Understanding, the panther ran forward and pounced onto the blonde. She screamed as she fell to the ground. Heidegger turned around in shock and was met with the end of the gun pointing directly in his face.

"Remember me?" Verna glared up at the bearded man. "If you don't answer my questions you'll meet a fate worse than just being kicked. Understand?" Verna thrust the gun at him to emphasize her point.

Heidegger's face was flushing a red as his anger took a hold of him. Somehow, the temperamental man restrained himself from going on a rampage. He nodded slowly and held his hands in the air. Scarlet meanwhile was still struggling with Dark Nation, but due to the panther's weight she couldn't escape.

"I learned that you've done some research on my father," Verna took off the safety on her gun. "What do you know about him? Where is he?"

Heidegger looked at her with amusement, "You think that I actually know that? I did have the file, but that's only connected to the computers in Shin-Ra's building. There's no way you can possibly get to it."

"You're lying!" Verna growled through clenched teeth. "I want the real answer."

"Want doesn't get," Heidegger simply replied.

"You're right," Verna put her finger on the trigger. "And you wanting to rule Shin-Ra doesn't get you anywhere. You have to work for it! You can't just do this!" Verna pulled the trigger.

The gun shot echoed throughout the air. Scarlet ceased her struggling and looked at up with a horrified expression. Verna backed off and lowered her gun. Her shoulders were shaking out of anger. Heidegger fell to his knees.

"It was a blank, dumbass," Verna looked at the manager who was frightened out of his wits. "I wouldn't kill someone just like that. Not even scum like you."

"Verna?" Verna glanced behind her shoulder to see Cloud, Vincent, Cait Sith, Red XIII and Tifa. Cloud spoke again, "What are you doing here?"

Verna backed further away from the managers, "Just getting some answers out of them. They're taking over Shin-Ra, attempting to at least. I think you're better off ruling Shin-Ra, Cait Sith. Well, at least the man behind the puppet."

"They already know it's me," Reeve spoke in his actual voice through Cait Sith.

"I see," Verna nodded. "Are you stationed in Junon yet?"

"Not yet, we've ran into a bit of a situation," Verna raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Hojo's alive. He's controlling the Mako reactors and is giving power to Sephiroth. We have to stop him before Midgar blows up."

"I see…What do we do about these two?" Verna motioned behind her to "Gahaha" and "Kyahaha." She watched as Heidegger stood up.

In a flash, Heidegger went to attack Dark Nation. The panther jumped the side, allowing Scarlet to get up. The two managers climbed into a machine before anyone could do anything. Verna stepped back to join AVALANCHE while loading her gun. Dark Nation stood in front of her and cast barrier on all of them.

"Kyahaha!" Scarlet burst out laughing. "You really should think twice about turning your back to your enemies!"  
"At least I didn't get punched like I punched you at the masquerade."

Scarlet's eyes narrowed, "So you were the one. Now I have a personal reason to kill you."

"Oh, and how is Palmer? After I hit him with the truck I haven't really seen him around, I'd like to give him my condolences," Verna smirked as she haughtily mouthed off.

"You really shouldn't be giving "Kyahaha" and "Gahaha" any more ammo," Cait Sith spoke nervously as the robot began to move.

"It'll draw them off of you and to me, you guys can go and do whatever it is you came to do," Verna spoke as her arm began to glow a reddish hue.

"Tifa, Caith Sith, Red," Cloud spoke calmly as he took out his rather massive sword, "You go and clear the way while we help Verna take care of these two clowns."

"Right," Tifa nodded and ran off with the mechanical puppet close behind her.

"Look out," Vincent spoke as he began firing his gun at the robot.

Verna looked up and leapt out of the way as a claw was swung down at her. She growled as she lifted her hand. A summoning circle formed as the giant emerged from it.

"Titan, little help please!"

The giant ran forward and started throwing punches at the robot. It stumbled backwards from the force, but wasn't taking too much damage. Verna scowled as she began to load her gun with actual bullets.

Dark Nation sent out a massive cloud of lightning towards the robot. It started to break down the robot. Cloud noticed the weakness and started sending off bolts of electricity of his own. Vincent held out his gold gauntlet and a wizard was summoned. It raised its staff sending more lightning at the robot. Lightning was its weakness.

The robot struck out and slammed one of its claws at Verna. It hit the barrier. She looked up with some shock seeing it struggle to break through it. If she moved the barrier would most definitely break. She saw it cracking. The other claw sung forward and broke through the barrier, sending her flying back, slamming her into a nearby wall.

Cloud noticed that a part of the claw was exposed. He jumped into the air and slammed his sword onto the exposed area. In an instance the claw was sliced off. It hit the ground with such strength that lose debris went up into the ground.

Sparks flew from the robot. Scarlet grunted as she tried to control it, but it was futile. An explosion went off with Heidegger and Scarlet screaming. After the explosion ended there was silence. The two managers were dead.

Verna laid on her back with her eyes clenched shut. She gritted her teeth together from the pain that racked her body. She broke a few ribs, that was for sure. Though, the worst pain was emitting from her leg. She sat up slowly and looked down at it. The girl turned to the side and disposed of the contents in her stomach. She coughed multiple times from vomiting and moved to the side.

Carefully, she looked back at her leg and grimaced at the sight. The bone stabbed through her skin and tissues was dangling off of it. Blood was staining her clothes. She felt faint at the sight, but forced herself to stay conscious from mere will power.

Dark Nation ran over and examined the wound. He whimpered slightly as he cast cure on her. That only helped with the minor wounds, but it wouldn't help with her leg. Vincent and Cloud slowly came over. Cloud knelt down and examined it. He took out his PHS and dialed a number.

"I need you guys to get here quickly, Verna's been injured and she needs a doctor right away," He spoke rapidly and hung up. He then looked down at the injured newspaper girl, "Cid, Yuffie and Barrett will be here soon." He glanced to where Tifa and the others went.

"Go," Verna urged the two. "I'll be fine until I get here. Besides, Dark Nation's here. If anything happens he'll protect me."

"Alright," Cloud nodded. In an instant Vincent and Cloud were running away.

Dark Nation cast a barrier on Verna before lying next to her. The pain started to subside as the endorphins started to invade her nervous system and block the pain. It would be temporary, but it was enough for right now.

-A/N—

*twitches* I've almost completely caught up with my game play to the story and I was running on memory. ;_; I messed up on so many things! DX I'm sorry! Anyways, that's partially why updating has taken me so long – playing the actual game – but I was also extremely busy. For example, I have two AP tests coming up (Monday and Friday of next week), I had to submit my AP Design portfolio, finals are in two weeks, I'm graduating from high school, I had to put together a presentation for my Girl Scout Gold Award, I had to clean the house for when my relatives are coming over (tomorrow), and I took on of my friends to the wolf sanctuary near where I live. She's from the Czech Republic and her host family hasn't done anything with her, so she's been trapped in a small town with nothing to do. That sucks, huh? Oh well, she'll be showing me around Europe when I go there Junior year of college, so I should treat her well, haha.


	32. Chapter 32

"Verna!" Yuffie cried as she ran over to the girl sitting on the ground. "What happened?"

"Scarlet and Heidegger is what happened," Verna shifted slightly. "I'm not exactly sure how my bone broke like this, but it is what it is." She closed an eye as she concentrated on getting up.

"Hold still, kid," Cid pulled a cigarette out of his mouth and dropped it to the ground before stepping on it. "Your leg ain't in any condition to be walkin' on it."

Verna glanced at him and went against his words. The newspaper girl stood up, though was mostly balancing on one leg. She accepted an arm around her as Yuffie allowed her to lean on her for support.

"Let's just go," Verna scowled. "The bone has already started to heal."  
"How the hell does it heal already?" Barrett question as he supported her on the other side.

"It's just how bones work. When you break it, it starts healing right away," Verna winced as they began walking. "That's why it's important to get it set in placed right away, so it heals properly."

"Well, we'll find a doctor," Cid said as he led the way, holding his pike close in the case anyone at Shin-Ra attempted to attack.

Verna kept her eyes opened. She was looking for a specific doctor. She was looking for a specific truck. Dark Nation growled lowly as he ran ahead. Verna watched him and her eyes lit up at the sight of a familiar pickup truck.

"Over there," She motioned with her head. "That truck belongs to someone I've hitchhiked with a couple of times. He's a doctor from Kalm."

"Ya sure?" Cid questioned as he eyed it. He walked over and peered into the window. "There's no one in there. There ain't any keys. Who knows when he'll be back. We need to find you a doctor now. We can't just wait all day."

"The hell are you doing with my truck?" Someone questioned from behind the duo supporting Verna. Upon turning around the doctor raised an eyebrow, "The hell happened to you?"

"Can you fix it?" Verna questioned.

"I'll give it a shot," He pulled out a cigarette and lit it as he walked over to the truck. "You're lucky I just picked up some more medical supplies." He placed down a couple of bags and pulled out a blanket from the truck and laid it down. "Sit down on it."

Yuffie and Barrett placed Verna down onto the blanket. The doctor pulled out some antibacterial soap and disinfected his hands before placing a pair of disposable gloves on. The first rule of medicine was to make sure the wound wasn't expose to any germs that would come from the doctor.

The doctor took out a pair of tweezers and cotton balls before putting some alcohol on it. He then began to dab away the excess amount of blood from the wound. Verna hissed at the stinging sensation that it caused.

The doctor licked his lips as he focused and examined the area. He gently massaged Verna's leg and slowly began to elevate it. The swelling slowly went down in about 15 minutes. Looking up he frowned.

"I'm gonna have to take you either to the hospital or back to my place in Kalm. I'll have to perform a minor surgery and have to insert some screws to keep in place. It'll take at least 18 months for your leg to completely heal. It's a good thing you're done growing, otherwise we'd have some more issues." He took off his gloves, "So what do you want to do?"

Verna winced as her adrenaline started to go away, "Whatever, just hurry."

"To the hospital it is," He packed up his supplies and motioned towards Barrett to pick Verna up. "I'll take her to the hospital."

Verna glanced at Barrett as he placed her into the truck, "You go and help Cloud stop Hojo, you hear me? And stop Sephiroth. With Rufus dead there's hardly anyone that will be able to do it."

"What are you going to do?" He questioned quietly as he looked at the newspaper girl.

"I'm going to go searching for someone that's been missing for a while," Verna closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. "I'll have to hack into Shin-Ra's computer system, but I'll find a way."

"Alright," Barrett backed up, "Good luck."

"You too," Verna smiled slightly. Dark Nation jumped into the truck and the door shut.

"So Rufus is really dead?" The doctor questioned as he started the truck and began to speed off towards the hospital. "Hard to think that's actually true."

"He was in the tower when it blew up," Verna responded as tears formed in her eyes – they could easily be dismissed at the pain from her leg, but they really weren't. "There's pretty much no way someone could survive an explosion like that."

"I suppose you're right," The doctor dodged some flaming debris. He looked into the rearview mirror, "And now you're stuck with his pet?"

"Looks like it," Verna shifted as she tried to find a position to help with the pain.

"Massage the area around it," The doctor spoke. "That will help with the pain. Gate theory, ya know?"

"I'm afraid I don't know," Verna tried what he told her and began to relax. "Will I be able to travel around while my leg is healing?"

"Probably not," The man pulled into the hospital's parking lot. "You'll be confined to crutches at best. They might have you put weight on it as soon as possible, but you won't be able to walk on it for a long time, that's for sure." The doctor stopped and jumped out of the truck while coming to the other side, "Wait here while I get a wheel chair."

Verna watched as he ran off. Dark Nation placed his chin onto Verna's shoulder. She barely noticed it as she bit her lip from screaming at the pain her leg was causing her. Blood trickled down her chin. She barely registered what was going on. Then, everything went black as the doctors placed her under.

-A/N—

Oh my Shiva! So I was adding all of the chapters for this story into one document. After formatting it correctly (Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, double spaced), it's 183 pages long with 48144 words, and this isn't including author notes. Well, I guess this means that this fan fiction is a little more than half way done. My goal is to end it around 80000 words – novel length work.


	33. Chapter 33

The first thing that she noticed was the putrid smell of disinfectant. The smell overwhelmed to the point where it awakened her from the remaining slumber that consumed her. A small moan escaped her lips as she began to allow the light to force its way through her eyes. She blinked once and then twice as she became used to the light. Slowly sitting up she glanced down at her leg – which was itching to an annoying degree.

"It's broken," She spoke simply, stating the obvious. "At least Heidegger and Scarlet are gone."

The girl shot her head to towards the sound of a door opening. A frown etched its way onto her face. It was her uncle, not who she really wanted it to be. The fatter man managed to sit in a small chair by the bed. In his hands he had two glasses of water. One of which he handed to Verna.

Verna quickly gulped down the liquid to try and sooth her dry and scratchy throat. Gasping for air she looked at her uncle, he had yet to say something. There was something wrong, she could tell.

"What is it?" Verna narrowed her eyes at her uncle's silence.

He took a moment and then opened his mouth to speak, "Three of the managers of Shin-Ra died last night. Not to mention Rufus Shin-Ra is now missing."

"Missing?" Verna's eyes opened wide, "They don't think he's dead?"

"They're not declaring anything until they can find his body," her uncle shifted and crossed on leg over another. "I know you were a part of two of the deaths, Verna." Verna cast her eyes down. "And you do realize there might be some consequences with that; don't you?"

"I-," Verna started, but paused for a second or two. "They attacked me. If I didn't do something I would have been dead."

"Will Shin-Ra really see it that way? The Turks' boss was Heidegger, they could go after you and—."

"The Turks won't do anything," Verna shook her head. "They've helped me in the past, even against Heidegger's orders."

"That's because Rufus was alive," Her uncle crossed his arms. "He's not here anymore, so the Turks might see things differently. They will find you and they will kill you, Verna."

"But…" Verna trailed off.

At that moment a door managed to open against the tension that was in the room. A nurse walked in and glanced at Verna. The nurse gulped from the tense atmosphere of the room.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but the doctor wants you to start using your leg. He says it's important for you to exercise it, so you won't experience atrophy in your legs. You'll probably only start by putting a little weight on it."

"I'll walk on it," Verna shifted so she could get out of bed.

"No," The nurse tried to place her hands on Verna's shoulders. "If you do that you could cause more damage."

"If I don't I'll cause more damage to the world," Verna shot back and forced the nurse's hands off of her shoulders. "My body doesn't matter. Besides, we need everyone to evacuate Midgar before it's too late." She looked over to her uncle, "What did your friend say?"

"He's working on it," Her uncle stood up, "But Shin-Ra's low on man power to do it, we'll need volunteers and people are already stealing from the company, particularly the weapon's unit."

Verna cussed under her breath and looked at her uncle, "What are you still doing here? You need to get people out of Midgar." She then looked at the nurse, "I need you to get the entire hospital to transport all of the patients out of this city and somewhere else."

"Why?" She narrowed her eyes.

"If I'm right Meteor will fall on Midgar, this is going to be the place of impact which means this is where people will die. With the sectors it'd be easy for them to collapse, which means everyone in the city might die. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The nurse hesitated, but nodded after seeing the sternness in Verna's face, "I'll see what I can do."

She hurried out of the room. Verna's uncle handed her a suitcase that was sitting in the corner and walked out without a word. Narrowing her eyes, Verna unzipped it and glanced inside. A few changes of outfits were in the main compartment along with her laptop. She then looked at the mesh pocket; a few wigs, a makeup kit, and a few fake . Her uncle really did think she was in trouble, didn't he?

Sighing, Verna used the wall nearby as she painfully made her way to the door and locked it. Turning around, Verna's heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Something was under her bed.

"Shi—!" She clamped a hand over her mouth as the thing started to move. A paw stuck out and then a head, "Dark Nation!" She shouted furiously. "You scared me half to death." The panther looked at her and slowly walked over. "Don't do that again."

Verna slowly sat next to the panther and stroked its head. Her hair covered her face as she looked down at the ground. Streams of liquid made their way down her face and landed onto her dressing gown that the hospital provided.

"I miss him," She suddenly gripped the panther into a hug and spoke into his fur. "I really miss him."

The panther got out of her grasp and grabbed the suitcase with its teeth before dragging it back over to her. It placed a paw on it and looked up at her with determination. Verna watched slightly shocked. It was really an intelligent creature.

"You're right," she nodded. "Nothing good will come from crying and doing nothing. We have to make sure he really doesn't die."

Verna grasped her clothes and quickly changed – with some struggle due to her leg. Glancing down, she took out her laptop and quickly began typing. She was placing the death on the deceased department managers. Shin-Ra Electric Power Company would not die. No, it would survive.

An hour or so later, Verna sent the news article and placed her laptop into her suit case. Standing up, she dragged the suit case behind her. Dark Nation followed his new limping master. The pair hurried out of the hospital before anyone noticed. Though, it was easy, seeing as it was being evacuated at the present moment.

As Verna walked outside, she shielded herself from the strong wind and rain. She muttered a curse as she continued outside. She didn't have time to wait for the weather to become calmer. There was something she had to do, and she had to do it before Meteor hits Gaia.

Suddenly, Dark Nation ran ahead of her. Verna reached a hand out towards him and tried to catch up with the panther, but she couldn't run. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a figure stop walking as Dark Nation ran up to it. The panther seemed to jump on the figure, knocking it down.

"Hey!" Verna huffed irritated with the panther. "Don't do that!"

As she neared the person, she realized that Dark Nation wasn't attacking, but merely smelling the person. A small gasp escaped her lips as she realized who it was.

"Rude?!" Verna managed to pull Dark Nation off. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking care of some things," He stood up and placed his dark shades back over his eyes. "Your leg?"  
"It's nothing," Verna looked away, her uncle's warning was replaying in her head. "I'm sorry about Dark Nation. I have to go."

Just as Verna was walking away Rude spoke more than he usually does, "You shouldn't leave Midgar so soon. The President isn't dead."

Verna shook her head, "He's not dead until you find a body, I know."

Rude said something that Verna didn't catch over the howling wind and an ambulance siren that just zoomed by her. The ambulance carried him.


	34. Chapter 34

Hair stuck to her face as rain continued to fall down. The umbrella was next to her on the ground, opened. Her hands were still in the air, pantomiming holding that said umbrella. The girl's bottom lip trembled and her tears joined the rain drops that were streaming down her face.

Her boot – that protected her broken leg- took a tentative step forward, followed by her normal leg. She limped until she fell down to her knees. A sob escaped her lips as she pulled onto her now soaked hair.

A panther nudged her and lied down next to his new master. He glanced up at the rock set out in front of them. Engraved on it was her Father's name, a day of birth and a day of death.

The doorbell rang. Hurried steps sounded, but they were silenced through the pounding rain and booming thunder. The door swung open to show a girl soaking wet. The girl looked up with a looked of expectancy. That look faded to one of utter disappointment.

"I-Is Mister Deline here?" She watched the woman who opened the door.

The woman pursed her lips together as she examined the girl standing on the porch, "Who are you?"

"Verna Alm," the girl spoke softly, "Mister Deline is my uncle. Who are you?"

The woman raised an eyebrow as she noisily chewed on some gum, "I'm the one who got money from his life insurance. I was first in line to get it. Well, after you. But you were missing, so I got everything."

Verna's eyes widened, "What…? What are you talking about?"

"You're uncle's dead. Tough break," the woman slammed the door in Verna's face.

Verna fell to her knees as she stared at the door, "Dead? How? Why!?" Her shoulders shook as the rain continued to pour down onto her, "First Rufus, then Dad and now him!? Why is everyone dying?" A scream came from her lips as she gripped onto her leg. Her vision blurred, but she managed to see a black liquid seep through her pant legs.

"If you don't leave right now I'm calling the cops!" The woman from before shouted as she slammed the door open. Her eyes widened and her hands shot to her mouth, "The stigma! Ah, disgusting! You people should just stay away from the rest of us!" The woman shut the door quickly before calling in an emergency.

The panther growled at the door and glanced down at his now unconscious master. He lied down protectively near her, vowing silently he would protect her.

"Nngh," A groan escaped from Verna's lips as she opened her eyes. She was dry in in a comfortable placed. Sitting up, she glanced around the room. It was plain, with only a few pictures here and there. She climbed out of bed and walked to a particular picture. "Is that?"

"Glad to see you're awake!" Verna looked down seeing a little girl staring up with her with a wide smile. "You're Verna, right?"

"Do I know you?" Verna raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"We never met, but I know you!" She held her hands behind her back. "I'm Marlene, you know Papa, and Tifa, and Cloud, too!"

Verna's eyes widened, "Are they here right now?"

Marlene shook her head, "Papa's out on a mission and Cloud's gone as always. Tifa's here, though! Come on, she'll be happy to say you're okay!" She began to walk out, "Oh, and that panther that was with you is downstairs. It ran after Cloud."

"Why did Dark Nation do that?" Verna mumbled mostly to herself, but it didn't go unnoticed by Marlene.

"Cloud found you unconscious and when he tried to pick you up the panther attacked him," Marlene smiled as she walked down the stairs. "Then when Cloud finally managed to get you away it followed him all the way to here!"

"Where is here?"

"7th Heaven!" Marlene exclaimed proudly, "It's Tifa's bar and my home!"

"Marlene!" Verna looked up seeing a familiar face with new clothes, "Oh, Verna, you're awake?" Verna nodded slowly, "I'm glad to see that. Marlene, go look after Denzel while I talk to Verna, okay?" Marlene nodded and ran back up the stairs. "Please, sit," Tifa smiled kindly at Verna. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Just some water," Verna spoke softly due to her scratchy throat. Fur brushed past her, glancing down Verna gave a small smile, "Hey, Dark Nation."

Tifa watched the panther carefully, "That was Rufus's, wasn't it?" She shook her head as she filled a glass with water, "Cloud had to fight against him right after Sephiroth killed the first President." Verna raised an eyebrow and muttered a quick thanks for the glass. "Anyways, what were you doing outside in the rain like you were last night?"

Verna swished some of the water in the cup, "I was going to see my uncle after I found out that my father died." She paused for a second, "But it turns out he died while I was gone."

"I'm so sorry, Verna," Tifa looked down at the bar. "Do you know how?"

Verna looked up, "My father was shot and killed by some of Shin-Ra's men. He was working for AVALANCHE and did some missions in Wutai. I don't know about my uncle, right now. It could have been the stigma. Everyone who gets it dies."  
Tifa slammed her hands on the bar, "Don't say that, Verna!" Verna looked at Tifa with shocked eyes, she was furious. "We can't just give up hope. There has to be a cure and it's only a matter of time before it's discovered. Even if we adults know that it might now happen, we have to stay strong for the kids. Upstairs there's a kid named Denzel who has the stigma." Tifa paused, "And Cloud, he has it, too."

"He does?" Verna watched her. "You guys saved Gaia, and now he has…."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Tifa cleaned the bar. "It's called geostigma for earth's disgrace, and he was the one who saved us all." A small sigh escaped her, "Everyone who gets it is sad for a reason, though. Cloud was upset that he couldn't save Aerith. Denzel lost his parents. And you, when did you get it?"  
Verna stared at Tifa, "Right after I found out my father died."

Tifa nodded softly, "No matter what you do, don't fall into the darkness anymore. It'll only make it get worst."

"It doesn't even matter, anymore," Verna shook her head and stood up. "I should get going. Thanks for everything, Tifa."

Verna began walking out with Dark Nation close behind her. Tifa ran out from behind the bar and grabbed her wrist.

"Just stay here for a while, okay? At least until we can be sure you won't be passing out in the rain again," Tifa gave a small smile. The phone suddenly rang, causing Tifa to sigh. "He's not here anymore. Wait here. Go ahead and sit, okay?"

Verna glanced down at Dark Nation and shrugged before directing her attention towards the television. Her eyes narrowed at the headline, "Should Shin-Ra Pay?"

Verna rolled her eyes and turned around to the panther and stroked his head while listening to Tifa talking, "Reno called, he's in Healen. Says he's got work for you. Cloud, how have you been?"

-A/N—

I freaking miss Japan. Being back in America kind of just sucks. We're so stupid here and people are just so rude! God, and I miss walking everywhere and taking the trains. I've been going on walks every day in just an attempt to get past being back in America. _ I'm having a post-Japan depression.


	35. Chapter 35

They say that the stigma is caused by the life stream or mako energy. People point their fingers at Shin-Ra and cry that it's their fault, but is it really? The life stream has been around since the beginning of life and yet there's no sign of the stigma in recorded history. Mako energy has been around for decades, and only now has the stigma appeared. I have to question what difference could there be that would allow the stigma to come about and I have an answer.

When I first began this newspaper series it was to no doubt gain popularity for it. It was also to track down the rumors going around that Sephiroth resurfaced and is alive. We all know that he was alive and trying to kill us all, he was the hero he once was. And now he is a part of my answer.

Sephiroth may be responsible for the stigma. He was the one that summoned Meteor to kill us. Now that he's a part of the life stream, he may be causing the stigma. Now how does this non-contagious disease get around that Sephiroth caused? Simple, we open our hearts to darkness and it consumes us.

My friend lost a friend and he has the stigma. A boy lost his parents and he has the stigma. I lost three people very dear to me and I too have the stigma. It finds the weak, that are willing to die, and it makes it easier for death to grasp them.

Now, you may blame Shin-Ra, or the life stream, but it's not their fault. And while Sephiroth started it, it's really the fault of the sorrow that has consumed humanity and these troubling times. With hope it may slow the stigma just enough to find a cure. Hold on to happiness and hold on to hope with every inch of your being. That inch is fragile, but it's all you have left. My inch is almost up, but those who have time should live on with everything they have.

Goodbye, Gaia, it's been a pleasure reporting for you. This is the end of the series of the Forgotten Hero, and the end of the newspaper. Good night, and good luck. – Verna Alm

"And send," she whispered as she clicked the mouse button on her laptop.

She closed the lid gently and slipped out of her bed. Her socks made no noise as she carefully stepped over the sleeping panther on the floor. The door opened and shut behind her as the girl made her way down the stairs. The bar was closed already, seeing as it was three in the morning. After maneuvering around tables and chairs, she finally found herself outside.

Verna reached into her pocket and popped a pill into her mouth before swallowing with just her spit. She coughed multiple times from the pain before it subsided. Sighing, she glanced around the empty street of Edge. A lamp post flickered, but that was the most action there was.

Standing up, Verna dusted the dirt off of her pajama bottoms and began to make her way inside. She froze at the sound of a motorcycle rushing through the town. Turning around, her heart stopped. Silver hair flashed past her. Her mouth was a gape. A single word escaped her lips. Sephiroth.

The motorcycle's wheels screeched against the tarmac. Smoke filled the air from the friction as the motorcycle came to a halt. The rider glanced over his shoulder. A sly smirk came on his face as he dismounted the bike. Verna's eyes widened as she turned around quickly to go back into the bar.

A hand gripped her from behind. A scream escaped her mouth, but it was soon silenced by a leather glove slapping over it. Verna struggled and fought against the man. He was over powering her. Tears started to form, she knew this was it.

Images flashed past her. A gasp heaved through her lungs from a sudden pain. Black liquid leaked from her leg and traced down to the ground. Her vision was blurring as the man was dragging her to the bike. Then, darkness.

"You know, sir," an arrogant voice sounded in the darkness of a vehicle. "I found that picture in your home to be very interesting. Who was she?"

"That's none of your business," a smooth voice replied with a sort of calmness to it.

"Oh, but I think it will be soon," there was a chuckle. "Because, you see, I found someone who looked a lot like that girl. Of course I thought she would be important to you if you had a picture of her. So do you know what I did?" There was a silence, "I was just kind enough to bring her here for you, just to make your little stay with us a little more enjoyable."

The vehicle stopped at what appeared to be a building in construction. It was still dark; the sun wouldn't rise for another hour or two.

"What did you do to her?"

"Oh, nothing really," the arrogant one climbed out of the car and placed down a ramp before wheeling out the calmer one. "She just had an invitation, so I made sure she was welcomed to the reunion. She was my little test subject to make sure it would work."

"To make sure what would work?" The calm one was losing his calmness and started to become more panicked.

"Ah, Verna!" The man looked up. "Wheel him in the building and make sure he doesn't escape or no one gets in. Got it?"

Verna nodded weakly and took the wheel chair from him before walking off. The man in the wheel chair looked up from under the fabric that hid his face. He had to wonder what was wrong with her. His eyes widened ever so slightly as he saw hers. They were the same as Sephiroth's.

"Verna," he broke the silence. "Do you know who I am?" There was no response. "I'm Rufus Shinra." Still nothing. "Are you listening to me?" She stopped walking and moved so she was in front of him. "Verna?" Her head hung down with no response.

-A/N—

Okay, so now I'm working on two different original fiction books…One I'm starting to lose inspiration for and the other I'm just starting to get a bunch of inspiration. The protagonist for the later one is a guy who smokes, murders prostitutes and poses as a teenage girl on the internet…Yup…This will be a doozy.


End file.
